Star Trek Online: Lord English
by ryl23
Summary: The continuing voyages of the Federation Starship Lord English, its crew, and the many interesting scenarios that occur. The original posts can be found on the Star Trek Online Forums under Literary Challenges.
1. LC01: Heritor

Literary Challenge #1: Prized Possessions

 **LC01: Heritor**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 85245.92. In recognition of my service to the Federation, Fleet Admiral Quinn, the Chief of Earth Spacedock, has seen fit to promote me to Vice admiral rank. More importantly, however, Admiral Quinn has seen fit to assign to me one of Starfleet's most state-of-the-art starships, the Odyssey-class starship. I have gotten dispensation to name it _Lord English_ after the invincible time-traveling demon of the 21st-century epic _Homestuck_.**

* * *

Vice Admiral Remus Lee looked upon Earth Spacedock from the mess hall of his new ship, the USS _Lord English_. Looking upon his home state of Pennsylvania, he managed a half-smile of smug satisfaction.

"Captain, I mean, Admiral, where do you want this put?"

First officer Kay Taylor came up to Lee with a bat'leth attached to a giant wall hanging of the emblem of the Klingon Empire and showed it to him, disregarding the unwieldiness of the hanging.

"Ah, that. Let me help you with that," Lee replied.

Lee and Taylor carried the hanging over to the center of the mess hall, where other crewmembers began unpacking other wall hangings and floor sculptures to be placed. Chief Engineer T'Shaanat looked at Lee and Taylor's Klingon wall hanging.

"I believe this would go well on the left, Admiral," T'Shaanat said.

Taylor and Lee hung the wall hanging to the far left. Taylor stepped back and checked to see if the hanging was level.

"If I recall correctly, this came from when we followed Ambassador B'vat back in time," she said.

"That's right," Lee stated. "When we killed B'vat, I took this bat'leth off of him along with this piece of the IKS _Worvig_ as a trophy. Man, those were good times."

T'Shaanat declined to lecture Lee about the ethics of stealing from corpses, especially since she recognized the rest of the trophies from missions she was personally involved in. Among the boxes was:

A Romulan Statuette from Brea III

Gul Madred's Phaser Rifle, from Empok Nor

The kar'takins of Lamat'Ukan and Kar'ukan

The helmet of Thot Trel, encased in ice

The Borg implants of the former Captain Ogen of Starbase 82

An Undine Psi Master's arm-cannon

There were other trophies too, but T'Shaanat's eye was drawn to a Mk. IV Phaser Split Beam Rifle in a box. Vulcans do not normally feel fear, and today was no exception for T'Shaanat.

"Admiral, is this phaser rifle's origin similar to your other trophies?" T'Shaanat asked with some concern.

Lee looked at the phaser rifle in the box and chuckled.

"I did not kill a Starfleet officer, if that's what you're thinking," he replied. "This was the personal weapon of Commander Taylor's predecessor, back when I was an Ensign."

Lee took the phaser rifle out of the box and ran his finger down the barrel. T'Shaanat and Taylor knew from experience that this signaled the start of a story.

"It all started when the Borg attacked Vega IX..."

* * *

"If these reports are correct, you are the highest ranking officer aboard the _Heritor_ , sir. That makes you the acting captain."

"Oh, crap."

Ensign Remus Lee, the night shift Security Chief of the USS _Heritor_ , sat in the captain's chair and pounded his temples. Just this morning, he was eating cereal in nightwear when the _Heritor_ was called to join the USS _Renown_ in driving the Borg off of Vega IX. Now he was in command, having lost no less than four of the senior officers under which he served (not to mention countless fellow crewmembers) in a losing battle against the Borg. For someone who spent his Starfleet career reading incident reports and breaking up fights, this was a giant and shocking leap.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap."

Lee's reverie was cut short by a phaser rifle butt to the back of the head. As he keeled over in pain, he saw his new first officer Ensign Jhamyn Eloni standing over him, staring daggers.

"That was uncalled for, Ensign Eloni!" he exclaimed. "That really hurt, you know."

"Sir, with all due respect, you are now the role model for the survivors aboard the ship," Jhamyn said. "If you don't shape up, none of us will be getting out of this system alive, and I sure as hell don't want that to happen to me!"

Lee blinked and looked around. The survivors of the ship were looking at him, waiting for his response. Privately, he pulled Jhamyn aside.

"I don't want to die any more than you do, but you have to admit, anyone in my shoes would the same insecurities, wouldn't they? I mean, I always thought my Starfleet career would be cushy; scan a few anomalies, solve a few mysteries, save a few planets, arrest a few pirates at most. Heroics are for people who have their lives in order."

This remark was met with another rifle butt, this time to the stomach. Jhamyn's patience was starting to wear thin.

"There is a saying on Andoria: 'Let your woes become your deadliest weapons'," she stated. "If you can master your self-doubt, you can pull yourself and the rest of the ship out of this death trap, and we can return to Earth where you can find a new captain for your ship."

Although Lee was still unsure of what to do, he saw the anger in Jhamyn's eyes and decided not to tempt his new Andorian first officer's temper any further. Standing up, he brushed himself off, returned to the captain's chair, and addressed the survivor bridge crew.

"Ensign Eloni is right," he admitted. "Sitting here consumed by fear is only going to get us killed. However, straight up leaving the system would be frowned upon as well, so we shall honor the memory of our dead comrades and finish what they started. I may be a sniveling ball of mud, but with your support, I am sure I can become the best damn ball of mud you ever served with! Crewman! Lay a course for USS _Seacole_! Our Starfleet comrades need our help!"

While Jhamyn worked the first officer's chair, Lee sat on the edge of the captain's chair. Of course, he was still shaking in his boots, but at the very least he could put on a show of confidence.

* * *

Lee talked for more than half an hour about the battle for Vega IX using long words and grandiose gestures. Eventually though, T'Shaanat's Vulcan pragmatism broke the mood.

"You said this rifle belonged to your Andorian first officer, but your first officer is currently Commander Taylor, who is clearly human," she noted as she took the rifle from Lee's hands. "What happened to cause this change to occur?"

Lee and Taylor exchanged glances.

"Well, many things happened between then and now, but suffice it to say that if things had worked out differently, Jhamyn Eloni would still be my first officer," Lee explained. "That's a story for another day, though. Let's finish setting up the decorations and get ready to set off."

T'Shaanat and Taylor helped unpack some of the wall hangings as other crewmembers began the arduous task of lifting the heavier items to put on the wall. Lee stepped back and surveyed the work being done in the _Lord English_ 's mess hall. A half-smile of smug satisfaction crept onto his face again.

* * *

 **Captain's log, supplemental. The _Lord English_ is ready to set forth on its journey of exploration and defense, its crew having set their affairs in order and preparing for the final frontier. Although the life of a Starfleet officer is never certain, with the potential for death haunting every corner of space, I am confident that this crew will not die quietly or needlessly in the service of the Federation.**

* * *

The barrel of a phaser rifle tapped down on Lieutenant Lee's head as he sat in the mess hall of the _Heritor_. Ensign Jhamyn Eloni leaned on the table in front of him.

"You've been wearing that half-smile ever since you left Admiral Quinn's office," Jhamyn noted. "For someone who was deathly afraid of command, you seem to be pleased with yourself."

Lee rubbed his head softly where Jhamyn's phaser rifle impacted.

"Well, I guess I was more ready to command a starship than I thought," he replied. "You were pretty handy yourself with that phaser rifle on Vega IX."

Jhamyn stroked her personal weapon like an Andorian balalaika.

"I never thought I'd be fighting Borg outside of holodecks," she said. "With this baby, though, I think I can take on anything the universe throws at me."

Lee chuckled as Jhamyn twirled her rifle through all the acrobatic drills she learned at the academy.

 _I bet she really can take on the universe_ , Lee thought to himself. _She seems like the kind of person who would cheat death on a regular basis_.


	2. LC02: Department Head-aches

Literary Challenge #2: Taking Command

 **LC02: Department Head-aches**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 85281.14. The Odyssey Star Cruiser is a massive vessel unlike any ever fielded before by Starfleet. To crew this vessel requires 2500 people to manage its impressive array of systems, and to manage the 2500 crewmembers requires an impressive array of skilled officers. My crew and I remain at Earth Spacedock to facilitate the transfer of our new senior officers.**

* * *

From the outside, the USS _Lord English_ cut an imposing figure against the backdrop of the planet Earth. One thousand meters of Federation valor and technological progress, the Odyssey-class star cruiser inspired awe and admiration among the dock workers and Starfleet personnel who gazed upon it. Inside, however...

"Extreme caution. The USS _Lord English_ is a quarantined vessel by order of Starfleet Command. Do not board."

The assistant chief medical officer of Earth Spacedock stood over the collapsed and convulsing form of Vice Admiral Remus Lee, commanding officer of USS _Lord English_. With him was the ship's first officer, Commander Kay Taylor. The medical officer turned to Commander Taylor.

"Symptoms of dyspepsia and diarrhea, some internal hemorrhaging, some cutaneous edema. The cause is unknown, but the sickness is spreading rapidly."

"We have 470 people who have fallen ill," Taylor replied. "Ever since our doctor resigned, our medical staff has been reshuffled multiple times, so we have not been able to keep ahead of this epidemic."

The medical officer scanned Lee over with his tricorder.

"He is still alive, but unconscious. We will need to change him out of his uniform. Do you know when these symptoms first started appearing?"

"About this morning, around 0800 hours," Taylor noted. "Admiral Lee had scheduled our new senior officers to meet with him before the rest of the new crew arrived so they could get a head start on the crew transfers."

The medical officer turned his eyepiece to Taylor.

"Starfleet officers are supposed to be given a thorough medical examination before transfer. However, it may be possible that one of the new senior officers is the source of the contagion."

The medical officer began cutting away at Lee's uniform.

"Commander Taylor, it falls to you to find the source and contain it before the rest of the ship falls ill. I will continue to monitor the admiral's condition and will contact you if there is any change."

So saying, the medical officer resumed his duties and left Taylor to her own duties.

* * *

Commander Taylor and Chief Engineer T'Shaanat met in the ready room of the _Lord English_ , where Taylor briefed T'Shaanat on the situation.

"The assistant chief medical officer's assessment is correct," T'Shaanat noted. "As the new senior officers are the only people who have boarded this vessel in the past twelve hours, they are the most logical culprits."

"I don't want to falsely accuse anyone, especially a Starfleet officer that I would serve with aboard the _Lord English_ ," Taylor replied. "That said, it's important that we find out just what's causing this epidemic."

"We should take the precaution of confining the new arrivals to quarters, if indeed one of the officers is a carrier of an unknown pathogen," T'Shaanat suggested.

Taylor scratched her head in a concerned manner.

"We are trying to make our department heads feel welcome," she noted. "I don't want their first impression of the _Lord English_ to be a cage."

"As Starfleet officers, their personal opinions should not be shaped by unseen events," T'Shaanat mused. "However, it would be wise to prevent tensions aboard ship from rising. May I suggest we meet with the department heads personally to inform them of the situation?"

Taylor nodded in agreement.

"I think this would work. It would also allow us to get to know the department heads."

Having decided on a course of action, Taylor and T'Shaanat left to find the first of the new senior officers.

* * *

"Ensign Kira? May we have a word with you?"

Chief Science Officer Kira was found by Taylor and T'Shaanat on Holodeck 3 training in Klingon calisthenics. After a few moments of finishing off opponents, she turned to the two commanders.

"Do you need something?"

"Are you Kira, daughter of Korvis, serial number MS-373-601?" T'Shaanat inquired.

"I think if I wasn't, you two wouldn't be here. Who are you?"

"This is Chief Engineer T'Shaanat and I am First Officer Taylor of the _Lord English_ ," Taylor stated. "I'm sure they teach you etiquette at the Academy, Ensign."

Ensign Kira dropped her combat glove and apologetically came over to the two officers.

"Sorry, commanders, I had not expected you to meet me personally," she said. "What can I do for you, sirs?"

"We are attempting to find the origins of an unknown pathogen which is currently spreading throughout the crew," T'Shaanat stated. "As the new department heads are the only people to have boarded the ship in the past twenty-four hours, we are making inquiries to determine all the actions you've taken before boarding the ship."

Ensign Kira scratched her head in reminiscence.

"I can't say anything really specific, but I haven't left Earth at all since I graduated from the Academy this year. I spent all my time between Club 602, Paris, London, and Seoul while waiting for a posting, so when one opened up on the _Lord English_ , I jumped."

Taylor's jaw dropped two millimeters at the admission of Kira's ambition.

"You're fresh out of the Academy and you're already a department head?"

"I ranked consistently in the top 5% in the Sciences track at the Academy and graduated summa cum laude," Ensign Kira explained. "I had a choice between five Science officer positions on ships and stations from Deep Space 9 to the USS _Hood_ , but when I heard that Vice Admiral Lee was looking for a Chief Science Officer, I applied immediately, was accepted, and came onto the _Lord English_ right away."

"What made you choose the _Lord English_ as your posting, ensign?" T'Shaanat inquired.

"I've heard of the acclaimed heroics of Admiral Lee and his stalwart officers on the Klingon, Romulan, and Cardassian fronts, and I've always wanted to meet them in person," Ensign Kira replied. "Now that I've met you two esteemed commanders, I can see that the stories of his deeds are true. May I meet him now?"

T'Shaanat's expression did not change, although Taylor blushed a little.

"Unfortunately, Admiral Lee is currently unavailable due to the medical emergency," Taylor stated. "We would suggest that you voluntarily confine yourself to your quarters until we can find a solution to the situation."

Ensign Kira nodded in agreement.

"I will do that, Commanders. Thank you for informing me, and I hope Admiral Lee gets better."

* * *

"Excuse me, are you Ensign Vubenolli?"

Chief Medical Officer Vubenolli was located in the ship's lounge hall. She was violently devouring a cheesecake when Taylor and T'Shaanat came up to her. After polishing off another slice, she looked up at the two commanders.

"You are commanders," Ensign Vubenolli stated. "I am Vubenolli. I am Pakled."

"Nurse Vubenolli, there is an unknown pathogen spreading around the ship," Taylor said. "We are investigating all the senior officers that transported onto the ship in the past twenty-four hours. Can you tell us what you were doing before you came aboard ship?"

Ensign Vubenolli gestured to some pie plates.

"Eating."

"Were you eating pies at your previous postings?" T'Shaanat asked.

"Yes," Ensign Vubenolli affirmed. "Pies are good for eating. Eating happens when I am not working. The doctor from Spacedock will not allow me into sickbay."

T'Shaanat looked over the rest of the pie dishes. Most came from the _Lord English_ , but some came from other planets. She picked up a pie plate with markings from Argelius Prime.

"Why are you collecting plates from your previous postings?"

Vubenolli rolled her eyes back in her head in reminiscence.

"Starfleet sends me to many places to help people. It is hard to remember where I go. I keep plates from places with good pies. When can I enter sickbay? I want to work."

"The sickbay is currently off-limits while the Medical officer from Earth Spacedock is working on the epidemic," Taylor stated. "Do you think you can confine yourself to quarters until the situation passes?"

The look on Ensign Vubenolli's face told the two commanders that this was the wrong question to ask of her.

"Starfleet allows Pakleds to join. Starfleet does not allow Pakleds to work. Pakleds are good workers. Do not make fun of Pakleds."

So saying, Ensign Vubenolli returned to her pies in a huff.

* * *

"Well, madams, what can I do for you?"

Chief of Security Drevis Indoril Nethri was found by the two commanders lying supine in the arboretum. As they came closer to him, he sat up and straightened his uniform.

"Lieutenant JG Nethri, we are investigating an unknown pathogen which has infiltrated our ship through a method currently to be determined," T'Shaanat informed. "Where were you before you boarded the _Lord English_?"

"I was on the USS _Indianapolis_ as a security officer," Lieutenant Nethri replied. "After the dust-up in the Orias system, I was put on the inactive list by a broken back. Starfleet Command gave me the opportunity to choose my next assignment once I recovered. When I heard about the opening on the _Lord English_ , I remembered how Admiral Lee handled that tough situation at Treasure Trading Station and decided to serve under him as his new Security Chief."

T'Shaanat looked over his medical records next.

"Your species is not listed in the Federation medical databanks. Due to the nature of the current situation, we would prefer if you confined yourself to quarters for the duration of the quarantine. We will be willing to accommodate you."

Lieutenant Nethri stretched out on the arboretum again.

"Just give me a few more minutes?" he asked. "I don't know when the next time I'll be able to be in a natural setting. I haven't seen one this verdant since I left my home planet."

"Where do you come from, Lieutenant Nethri?" Taylor asked with curiosity.

"My home planet is far from Federation space," he ruminated. "so far that I would die of old age before getting back. My people aren't spacefarers, but I was caught in some sort of unnatural phenomenon that deposited me on a desolate world near Mantilles. If I wasn't rescued by a passing freighter, I would have died on that planet."

Lieutenant Nethri closed his eyes and began to drowse.

"I probably would still be part of that freighter's crew if Admiral Lee didn't visit Treasure Trading Station that day. Looking at him then, I knew right there that joining Starfleet would have been the best career move for me. Once we get clear off this crisis, I will have to thank him personally... Zzz..."

The two commanders thought it best to leave Lieutenant Nethri to sleep.

* * *

"Whoever you are, I need you to watch your step."

Chief of Operations Kovat Vystan was working in Engineering on a giant piece of equipment when he was found by Commanders Taylor and T'Shaanat.

"Lieutenant JG Vystan, is that correct?" Taylor asked.

"You must be Executive Office Taylor and Chief Engineer T'Shaanat," Lieutenant Vystan replied. "I hear you're checking up on that nasty bug that has been going around the ship. Be careful as you enter."

Taylor and T'Shaanat stepped gingerly over the exposed wires extruding from the machine in the middle of Engineering as they moved closer to Lieutenant Vystan.

"That is a correct assessment, Lieutenant Vystan," T'Shaanat answered. "Where were you before you came aboard ship?"

"Nowhere important," he replied. "There's a reason there aren't many Cardassians in Starfleet, and it all boils down to our bad history with the Federation. I've been overhauling Earth Spacedock's computer systems for over a year now because Starfleet captains still don't trust Cardassians much. I should be glad that Admiral Lee accepted my application, but this pathogen's probably going to make my tour a short one."

Changing the topic, Taylor pointed at the giant machine.

"What are you working on, Lieutenant?" she asked placatingly.

Lieutenant Vystan stared at her through his optical sensor.

"It's a chronometric computer core, using a temporal processor and chroniton-enhanced memory. I made it myself using a standard Type 4 computer and some of the chronometric equipment from the science lab."

T'Shaanat looked the core over.

"The function seems sound, but I don't recall you getting permission to install any experimental devices."

Lieutenant Vystan brushed off the comment.

"Most of the operations staff is ill. Since I won't be able to handle all the ship's processes alone, I had to cobble together an assistant that will keep all the processes running while I put everything in their paces. It's set one second in the future so that anything I do that causes a major failure can be corrected before it happens."

"Would this affect the health of the crew in any way?" Taylor asked.

"It's not the cause of the illness, commanders," Lieutenant Vystan replied. "I only put it together after my operations teams called in sick. Now I have to do all their work."

"With all due respect," T'Shaanat warned, "changes to ship's operations must be cleared with the chief engineer before being implemented. Now due to the current situation, I would prefer that you confine yourself to quarters."

Lieutenant Vystan's gaze turned to T'Shaanat.

"With all due respect, Commander, I would prefer not to. Whether or not we will be able to leave Earth in this ship, it would be efficient to at least get it ready to leave. I am here to make that happen, and I know that you will not order me to stay in quarters."

Having called their bluff, Lieutenant Vystan returned to his work, leaving the commanders speechless.

* * *

Commander Taylor had spent the greater part of the day with Commander T'Shaanat searching for the cause of the illness without result. The senior officer had all checked out in terms of being patient zero. She hoped that she would resolve the crisis soon before the whole crew fell ill. It would definitely be the worst way for a ship to have a maiden voyage. For now though she would need to eat. She had forgone all her meals tracking and questioning all the department heads. She made her way to the lounge where Ensign Vubenolli was still face-deep in cheesecake. _Might as well join the club,_ she thought to herself.

"One slice New York Cheesecake."

The replicator created a slice of cheesecake which Taylor took to Ensign Vubenolli's table. She attempted to strike up friendly conversation with the Chief Medical Officer.

"So, Ensign, how is the cheesecake?"

Ensign Vubenolli did not respond from her stack of collected plates.

 _She must still be angry,_ Taylor thought as she raised her fork. As she was about to bite down, however, she noticed that the head of her fork was discolored in relation to the handle. On closer inspection, Taylor noticed that the head was made of a different material than that of standard starship utensils. Taylor raised Vubenolli out of her cheesecake.

"Ensign, what do you make of the head of this fork?"

The Pakled chief medical officer stared severely at the utensil. After moments, she pulled out a similar material pie plate from her collection. Taylor's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Where did you get that plate, ensign?"

The Pakled struggled to form her words. After a while, she spit out two words.

"'aucdet IX."

She followed up by spitting up three teeth and projectile vomiting before collapsing back onto her cheesecake.

* * *

 **First Officer's Log, supplemental. We were able to trace the cause of the illness to an exotic parasite that had recently been stored at the 'aucdet IX medical facility. It seems that some hibernatory forms of the parasite had evaded containment by hiding in the station's replicator system, and a contaminated plate was then recycled into the _Lord English_ 's replicators, spreading into the ship's food. Chief Medical Officer Vubenolli was the last victim of the parasite; she will have to recover at Earth Spacedock due to an excessive number of parasites in her system, but ESD's infirmary staff informs me that she, like Vice Admiral Lee and the rest of the crew, will fully recover.**

* * *

 _Solve one problem and another takes its place,_ Commander Taylor thought to herself. With the quarantine lifted, the _Lord English_ prepared for its maiden voyage, but its assigned Chief Medical Officer would not make the journey with her as she was placed on mandatory sick leave. She ruminated over the situation as the bridge crew underwent final checks, As the ship began leaving spacedock, however, the ship began receiving a hail.

"On screen," Lee ordered.

The gaunt face of Earth Spacedock's assistant chief medical officer appeared on the screen.

"Admiral, are you responding well to the treatment?" he asked.

"Why yes, thank you," Lee replied. "Your... unorthodox treatments were highly effective on me and the other affected crew."

"It is the best possible outcome to have occurred. Admiral, it has come to my attention that your ship is currently without a chief medical officer. I am currently forwarding an application to the position to your first officer."

This unexpected news pleased Lee and Taylor.

"My I ask why you wish to become _Lord English_ 's chief medical officer?" Taylor asked.

"It was Admiral Lee and his officers which had freed me from the Collective during the temporal incursion in the Quadra Sigma system. I owe him my freedom and my second chance at life."

"You are welcome, friend," Lee noted, "but I didn't catch your name. What is it?"

"Before my assimilation at Wolf 359, I was known as Edmund Tadakatsu Honda. I now go by my Borg designation of Four of Thirteen."

"Well then, doctor, come aboard my ship," Lee invited. "I'll leave the final decision up to my first officer, but I'm sure you'd make a good fit. I hope especially your skill with traditional medicine matches that of your skill in immunotherapy nanoprobes."


	3. LC03: Natural 20

Literary Challenge #3: My Haven

 **LC03: Natural 20**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 85359.7. Our rescue mission to Donatu V has fortunately been cut short when the reported 300-strong Klingon invasion force turned into the 300-strong defecting force of disgraced Colonel J'Kor and the members of his discommended house. Diplomats have been dispatched to help resettle J'Kor's followers; meanwhile, the _Lord English_ has been ordered to stand by at Donatu until further notice. This has given the crew some unexpected downtime with which to pursue personal interests.**

* * *

As the caravan approached the arrow-riddled bodies of the scouts' two horses, four goblins appeared from the brush and attacked.

"Battle stations!" the caravan's leader cried as he readied his greataxe. His three companions joined the fight, and soon three goblins were dead and the fourth was routing.

"Take that one alive," the leader ordered. "He may have important information!"

"Aye, Admiral! Disabling target!" one of his companions shouted as she sent an arrow into the goblin's left knee.

"It's still getting away, Admiral!" the rearguard companion shouted. "Take it down!"

The leader extended his greataxe to catch the goblin's right leg. Yanking the axe backwards, the leader critically tripped the goblin, who went down in howls of pain. The other companions caught up with the leader.

"Great job, Admiral!" the archer smiled. "You got him."

"Got him nothing! You folded his leg in half the other way, Admiral!" the rearguard shouted.

"People, people!" The leader exclaimed. "I may be an admiral on the bridge, but in Holodeck 4, just call me Steiner, the noble fighter."

* * *

Vice Admiral Remus Lee (fighter) led his party, consisting of Commander Kay Taylor (ranger), Chief of Operations Kovat Vystan (rogue), and Chief Science Officer Kira (wizard), deeper into the goblin's hideout in search of the missing scouts. The party voiced their concerns about their situation.

"Can we trust the information we got from the captive?" Kovat questioned. "He was not in the best of shape when we questioned him."

"In the program's lore, goblins are cowardly and selfish but not very intelligent," Lee replied. "A goblin in the situation like we encounter would have come clean in an attempt to save his own skin instead of staying loyal to some boss or other. His intel is most likely good."

"But he's dead now, isn't he?" Kovat smirked as his gaze turned to Kira. The Klingon took umbrage.

"Pardon me for attempting to use first aid in a tricorder-less fantasy world. How was I supposed to know he would have a fatal allergic reaction?"

Further discussion on goblin physiology was cut short by Commander Taylor returning from her reconnaissance mission with a warg in tow.

"Adm- I mean Steiner, K-CROSS reporting for duty," Taylor reported. "I've found the room where the goblin leader and his guards are hiding. I've also found three wargs and befriended them. Isn't that right, Ciel?"

She petted the warg on the head, eliciting a happy pant from the warg in the face of the disbelief of the two non-Humans. Lee drew their collective attention back to him.

"Now that we know where the big boss is, we can rescue the scouts and get back to the caravan in no time."

Kira raised her hand to get Lee's attention.

"Speaking of the caravan: if we are all in here, who's guarding the caravan?"

* * *

The four officers found themselves in quite a dilemma. A particularly beefy goblin had taken command of the goblin horde upon the death of the leader and threatened to toss a hostage to his death unless promised one hundred gold coins and safe passage out. The officers deliberated amongst themselves.

"We cannot allow this cretin to extort us this way," Kira complained. "Starfleet policy prohibits negotiations with terrorists, and these goblin things are clearly up to no good."

"Besides," Kovat noted. "There is no guarantee that Beefgoblin here will hold up his end of the bargain. We did drive his leader into the jaws of our wargs."

"Don't forget the two goblins that died to allergic reactions," Taylor jibed to Kira, who bristled.

"It's not my fault whoever programmed this scenario made goblins allergic to standard analgesics," she pouted.

Lee waved off everyone's concerns.

"Regardless of whatever missteps we've taken," Lee noted, "our priority is the safety of the hostage. Now, K-CROSS, you're sure that the room has no exits from which Beefgoblin here can escape from?"

Taylor pulled out a surprisingly well-drawn map.

"The only other exit from the room is a ledge which you collapsed when we first entered the cave because you tried climbing on it."

Kira and Kovat snickered upon recalling the event.

"If he can't escape, then we can deal with him once we rescue the hostage," Lee said. "Now, Kira, take this bag of gold to Beefgoblin. Once you get close enough, throw it in his face."

Just then, Commander T'Shaanat's voice came on the comm system.

"Admiral, the USS _Ark Royal_ is hailing us saying they have taken Colonel J'Kor and his followers aboard. They request we escort them back to Sol."

Lee leaned on his axe in resignation.

"Acknowledged, T'Shaanat. Tell _Ark Royal_ that we'll be ready to go in fifteen minutes. Lee out. Computer, save and exit."

The goblin cave dissipated into free photons and was replaced by holodeck emitters. Lee took off the heavier parts of his armor while the other officers discarded their weapons.

"Well, what do you think? Would you come back with me to Holodeck 4 next time we get some downtime?"

Taylor nodded appreciatively while the other two officers were less committed.

"I'm a bit curious as to why you'd engage in such a violent program," Kovat noted, "although the scheming you do could rival a Cardassian's plans. It's a rather... _Klingon_ program for a Federation officer. No offense, Commander Kira."

"None taken," Kira replied. "I just hope next time you'll let me take the axe rather than be the team's healer."

"I for one appreciate a good fantasy setting," Taylor quipped. "Next time you take some time off in Holodeck 4, count me in, adm- Steiner!"

The four officers left Holodeck 4 garrulously.

* * *

 **Captain's log, supplemental. The defection of Colonel J'Kor has been a great windfall in our stalemate in Eta Eridani, as the Colonel has brought with him enough Klingon war materiel to supply an entire fleet, without which the Klingons would not be able to make any major offensives for some time. The _Lord English_ will be busy assisting J'Kor's house to resettle away from the war.**


	4. LC04: Testing Positive

Literary Challenge #4: Passing Grades

 **LC04: Testing Positive**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 85357.86. The fighting on the Klingon front is on the wane, allowing our forces in Eta Eridani to catch their breath. Starfleet Command is taking this opportunity to rotate out our wearied front-line personnel and send in fresh officers. The nature of the war means they will quickly lose that new officer smell, but for now the _Lord English_ will savor their naive optimism as we take them to Starbase K-7.**

* * *

From their table at K-7, Vice Admiral Lee and Commander Taylor watched the flow of academy graduates as they scurried to their next assignment. Though some of the newly minted ensigns were fearful about being sent to the Klingon Front, most of them exuded a barely contained optimism about going into space. Lee and Taylor watched a particularly ebullient Grazerite ensign using vigorous gestures to communicate her high spirits.

"It's good to see such young and vibrant new officers ready to dash off into the new frontier," Lee noted, causing Taylor to flick a crumb of white bread in response.

"You and I aren't much older than most of these ensigns," she noted. "There, but for the grace of God, go we."

The pair continued to watch the Grazerite as she engaged an Edosian ensign and a Saurian ensign in gesticulating conversation.

"My first assignment, and it's to the USS _Kirk_!" she said with glee. "That's frontline duty, right there!"

"I thought Grazerites were supposed to be pacifists," the Saurian bemoaned. "They assigned me to Starbase 24. Did you know the Klingons attacked there three times in the past five days? I heard it got so bad there that they stopped repairing the station and live out of runabouts and shuttles!"

"That's fish feed," the Edosian contended. "Starbase 24 is too crucial to the defense of the Sirius Sector Block to abandon. They probably just use the shuttles to swap out damaged parts of the base with prefabricated parts."

"It's a no-win situation for me, that's what it is," the Saurian lamented.

"What do you know about no-win situations?" the Grazerite challenged. "You completed your _Kobayashi Maru_ by relieving yourself of command on health issues and taking a shuttle away from the ship. Too bad the Dominion chased your shuttle down."

The Edosian held the Saurian and the Grazerite apart before they came to blows.

"Let it go, chief, we can't all die heroically in battle. Now, let's go get some Aldebaran whiskey because we're now officers."

The Edosian led the Saurian away, although the Saurian threw in a parting jibe.

"Yeah, I bet your psych test was you growing old and dying in bed!" he threw at the Grazerite as he retreated into the distance.

* * *

Lee turned to see Taylor resting her head on the table with a coy look in her eyes.

"Are you getting memories of your cadet life floating around in your head, admiral?"

"What do you mean by that, Kay?" Lee asked.

"Come on, Remus," Taylor said, flicking another crumb at his moustache. "You heard those ensigns talking about their Kobayashi Maru and their psych test and your face made that look you always do when you have a story to tell."

Caught in the act, Lee decided to come clean to Taylor.

"Alright then, what would you like to hear about? My _Kobayashi Maru_?"

"I'm more interested in your psych test. _Kobayashi_ is about how you deal with a no-win scenario, but I'm more interested in how you dealt with your greatest fear."

"Ah, a sadist, hm? Alright, let me set the mood. Picture Philadelphia in the spring..."

* * *

 **Some time before the present...**

* * *

"Ugh, that was a slog."

When Starfleet Academy applicant Remus Lee expected to take the psych test, he did not think he would have to be strapped to a giant brainwave reading machine for three hours answering questions about vague psychological concepts. It was physically and mentally exhausting and TAC Officer T'Shanik had told him only that it would take quite some time before he would receive news about his total scores and whether it would be good enough for the Academy. Lee also wondered what the psych test determined was his greatest fear as he stepped out the door.

"Look out, kid!"

Remus felt someone shove him forward as he stepped on a tube. Flying forward onto the sidewalk, he could hear the clattering of construction materials falling to the ground. He got up and looked back to see a Starfleet officer pinned under a big slab of durasteel.

"Oh God!" the officer cried. "Somebody help me! Hell, it hurts! Kid, pull me out quickly! I can't feel my legs! I need somebody! Anybody!"

Lee attempted to lift the durasteel off the officer but lacked the strength to do so. He then tried to pull the officer out of the rubble. This did not go well, as the officer's exposed arm came off with a sickening tear. Blood began flowing freely as the officer went into death spasms. Remus looked around the empty street for assistance.

"Help! Somebody! There's a man down! Medical teams! Anybody! What should I do?"

Lee dropped the arm and vomited. As he tried to steady himself, TAC officer T'Shanik proffered a hand to help him up.

"TAC Officer T'Shanik!" Remus yelled. "We've got to get help! The officer, and the crushing, and the blood, and, good gravy I killed somebody!"

"Control your emotions, Mr. Lee," said TAC Officer T'Shanik. "The situation is under control."

"But, but, the collapse, and the arm, and the spasms and the screaming!"

"Mr. Lee, this is all part of your psych test.

Remus did a double take.

"Wait, what?" he said, startled.

"Our psychographic profile of you determined that your greatest fear was to be personally responsible for the death of another person," T'Shanik explained. "We fabricated a false psych test apparatus for you while we set up the real assessment outside the building so as to expose you to such a situation without being aware of it."

"You're telling me that the accident and the shoving and the metal slabs were all part of the test?" Remus said with disbelief.

"That is correct, Mr. Lee. Based on preliminary observations, your combined scores qualify you to attend Starfleet Academy."

The construction debris dematerialized back into photonic material as the crushed officer stood back up and dusted himself off with his good arm. He picked up the other arm off the ground and held out its hand to Remus.

"I lost the real one during the Dominion War at AR-558," the officer explained. "The name's Commander J. W. Weatherman, and I'm glad to see an eager young man like you pass your entrance exam. Put 'er there."

Remus gingerly shook Commander Weatherman's artificial hand.

* * *

"Wow, that was intense," Taylor gaped. "I thought I had it rough when I was trapped on a holodeck for ninety minutes because my profile determined I was afraid of abandonment."

"That's the psych test for you," Lee replied. "Forcing you to confront your fears is how they break you in as Starfleet officers."

"Maybe I should asked the other senior officers what their tests were like," Taylor mused. "It would bring us closer together."

Just then, alarms sounded as the voice of Starbase K-7's Commander Wildman came on the comm system.

"Attention all hands! A Klingon battle group has been sighted approaching the Aldebaran system! All available ships are to depart within the half-hour! Wildman out."

Lee and Taylor got up from their seats.

"Looks like trouble's back," Lee stated as he tapped his combadge. "You'll have to ask them later. _Lord English_ , two to beam up."

* * *

 **Captain's log, supplemental. The _Lord English_ and four other ships have engaged a similarly-sized Klingon battle group on the outskirts of the Aldebaran system. Neither side has any discernable advantage, and the battle has quickly devolved into ships chasing each other through the system. This is not the type of combat I would have first exposed our own new ensigns to, but sometimes it cannot be helped.**


	5. LC05: Glass Spider

Literary Challenge #5: Shards of the Mirror

 **LC05: Glass Spider**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 89130.87. The _Lord English_ is on a routine patrol in the Regulus Sector Block. Reports of raiding activity by Klingon marauders are still frequent enough to warrant guarded security measures off the beaten path, so the crew will be extra diligent in the course of their duties. Once we finish the patrol, it'll be Drozana and dabo for us.**

* * *

It was crewman Hollister's first week on board the _Lord English_ , and already he was feeling a bit weird. Should he say something to the CO of the _Lord English_? Try to make conversation? Point things out? Air concerns over his job? As Hollister thought, his gaze scanned Vice Admiral Remus Lee up and down. Lee was busy chewing on a piece of toast as he was trying to put on his right shoe. His uniform's overcoat was still unbuttoned and draped on his shoulders. Crumbs began littering the floor of the turbolift they were both in.

"Crewman, can you hold onto this for me?"

Hollister looked at Lee, who was holding the piece of toast towards him. Wordlessly, he took it.

"Thanks, crewman," Lee said as he began buttoning his overcoat. Once he was finished, he took the toast from Hollister. Soon, the turbolift stopped at the bridge.

"Here's my stop. See you around, crewman."

Hollister stared blankly as Lee walked onto the bridge.

* * *

The bridge of the _Lord English_ was awash with activity as Lee took the captain's chair. His first officer Kay Taylor was ready to brief him.

"Admiral, we've received a distress call within the Briar Patch. We've also detected weapons fire."

"Put the call on-screen," Lee ordered.

A disheveled-looking Orion female in a tattered uniform appeared on the screen, as she furiously tapped on the console.

"Mayday, mayday! We are- Remus? Is that you?" she exclaimed.

Lee looked at his bridge officers in confusion before responding.

"Hello, do I know you?"

The Orion was unceremoniously shoved out of the way by a disheveled-looking Human male in the same tattered uniform.

"I'll explain later! We have escaped from a Klingon Bird-of-Prey and are being chased by it! We need immediate help!"

An off-screen explosion prematurely ended the distress call. Diligent bridge crew quickly put the distress call's origin on the viewscreen.

"Take us in," Lee ordered. "Be ready for combat and emergency transport."

Amidst the roiling clouds of metreon gas and electrical charges, a Kivra shuttlepod attempted to dodge the disruptor fire of a B'rel Bird-of-Prey with a 95% success rate. The 20th shot, however, connected with the shuttle and sent into a death spiral.

The Bird-of-Prey maneuvered to place the shuttle once more within its cannons' arc, but the arrival of the _Lord English_ caused the Bird-of-Prey to break off the attack and cloak away, to Lee's chagrin.

"Losing the taste for battle already?" he snarked. "Some Klingons! What's the status on the distress call?"

"We're detecting a Kivra shuttle at 10 o'clock," Taylor replied. "It seems the pilots have lost control of the shuttle and are unable to reply to our hails."

"Beam the occupants to sickbay and secure the shuttle in the main shuttlebay," Lee ordered.

Soon shuttle and occupants were on the _Lord English_.

"Shuttlebay 1 reports that the shuttle has been secured," Chief of Operations Kovat Vystan reported. "Damage control teams are en route now."

"Sickbay reporting- we have the shuttle's occupants alive," Chief Medical Officer Four of Thirteen reported. "One female Orion suffering from combat stress, and one male Human with cracked ribs and radiation burns. I also detect signs of torture on the Human."

"Can you patch up the two patients as quickly as you can?" Lee asked. "I would like to talk to them."

"The male Human has also insisted that he talk to you," Four replied. "I will send him as soon as he is cleared. However, the female Orion seems to have fainted upon hearing your voice; I would like to keep her for observation."

* * *

"I am Vice Admiral Remus Lee of the USS _Lord English_ , but you seem to already know that. First off, tell me who you are."

Lee sat at his desk in the _Lord English_ ready room drinking a cherry and vanilla cola from a glass. The male Human sipped ginger ale from a mug before responding.

"Actually, I don't know you- that is to say, this version of you. My name is Joel Harris, and I am a refugee from what you call the Mirror Universe. I served in the Imperial Starfleet until the debacle at Vega IX. I escaped the slaughter by using a multidimensional transporter, but the Klingons in your universe captured me. I met the Orion you rescued and your Mirror counterpart in the same Klingon brig."

Harris stared into his mug of ginger ale before continuing.

"Aranea -the Orion- and I escaped solely because of the actions of the Mirror you. He was the one who had broken out of his cell and commandeered the shuttle. He would have come with us except the doors to the Klingon shuttlebay were damaged and needed to be held open manually. The last I saw of him, he was at the shuttlebay door controls when a Klingon guard shot him in the back..."

Both Lee and Harris fell silent. Lee pondered the story of the fate of his Mirror counterpart and wondered whether or not he would act so self-sacrificially if the situation called for it. Harris pulled out two isolinear chips and a Klingon PADD.

"The Mirror you gave this to me before Aranea and I escaped. He says it's his and Aranea's service records on the chips and a recording for you on the PADD. If we were to ever find this dimension's version of you, we were to give this to you to verify our story."

Lee continued to ruminate for a while before speaking.

"Well, now that you're free of the Terran Empire and the Klingons, what will you do?" Lee asked Harris.

"I don't know, I hoped to go back to Earth," he answered. "Maybe start a new life with Aranea. For now though, I would like to rest in quarters instead of the sickbay."

"Given what you've been through, I wouldn't hold it against you. I don't have any more questions, so you're free to go, Mr. Harris."

* * *

First Officer Taylor visited Lee later that day in his ready room. On the ready room desk was a Klingon PADD with the more disheveled Mirror version of Lee on the screen. Every so often, Admiral Lee would swipe the Klingon PADD's screen before typing on his own PADD.

"Admiral, may I come in?" Taylor asked.

"It's open," Lee responded.

Taylor took a seat across from Lee.

"I've heard the report about our two new guests and the fate of your Mirror counterpart," she commented.

Lee didn't look up from his work as he scribbles some more on his own PADD.

"Four cleared the Orion for release. She and Mr. Harris were given quarters on Deck 15."

"That's good."

Taylor could get the distinct impression that Lee was too absorbed in his own thoughts.

"The closest starbase to our position is Starbase 24," Taylor commented. "We should drop off our passengers before continuing on our patrol."

No response. Lee continued to type absentmindedly on his PADD.

"we should probably search for our universe's version of Aranea and Harris, so we can tell them about their Mirror doubles."

Lee mumbled to himself and grunted a non-committal reply. Taylor's patience was wearing thin.

"Admiral, what are you thinking about? Is there anything I can do?"

Lee again failed to reply to Kay. She finally got his attention by grabbing the Klingon PADD off his desk and throwing on the couch in the ready room.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Lee exclaimed.

"Admiral, I am beginning to think that your judgment has been compromised by the knowledge of your Mirror counterpart's death," Taylor informed him. "This is conduct unbecoming of a Starfleet officer."

Lee sulked under his ready room desk.

"Well, what would you do if you learned that someone that for all intents and purposes was you was now dead?" he asked Taylor.

"I wouldn't care," Taylor replied. Doppelgangers and counterparts are their own people and their own actions and fates don't reflect me. Whatever your double did, he did on his own terms and should not affect you in any way."

"Even so, I feel as if an integral part of me had died with my Mirror counterpart," Lee retorted. "Whether it's a blow to my pride as a denizen of this universe, or a reminder of my own mortality, the heroic death of my counterpart is something i cannot just ignore."

Taylor slammed both her fists onto the ready room desk, shaking everyone on and below the desk.

"Admiral," she said with barely contained ire. "permission to speak freely."

"G...granted," Lee replied timidly.

"The crew of the _Lord English_ requires a captain who will not second guess every move simply because of bad news. You and I have been through many situations in which the safety of this ship and its crew hinged on making split-second decisions. There are many dangers in space which would instantly destroy us all even with the best leadership. If you choose to remain conflicted because of your double's death, I will be forced to initiate procedures to remove you from command of this vessel."

This last statement triggered something in Lee. He crawled out from under the desk, straightened his uniform, and adopted a confident posture.

"You're absolutely right, Kay," Lee admitted to her. " If I'm stuck on my Mirror double's death, I'll only end up digging my own grave, and then where would that leave me? To hell with the Mirror Universe."

Lee hailed the bridge.

"Bridge, set course for Starbase 24! We need to drop off our Mirror Universe guests before we continue to defend the Federation from all threats."

Chief Medical Officer Four of Thirteen replied from the bridge.

"Admiral, I've come from sickbay with news about our Human guest, Mr. Harris. Where are you?"

* * *

Harris made his way to the _Lord English_ 's computer core room. Pulling out a chair from the core's interface console, he sat down and pulled up his sleeves.

"Computer, access _Lord English_ database, verify identity using ocular, blood, and skin biometric data," he ordered.

The computer core replicated several probes which took biometric data from Harris. Once the probes relayed the data to the core, they were recycled into energy. The console's lock-out screen gave way to a user-friendly screen with an open window that stated:

 _Identity verified. Welcome, Admiral._

Harris proceeded to copy and compress the entirety of the computer core's data into a single archive file. However, as he attempted to transmit the archive to a third party, the console suddenly shut down. Knowing the jig was up, Harris attempted to sneak away only to meet Lee, Taylor, and a squad of security officers.

"You've certainly know how to mess with people, Mr. Harris," Lee commented. "except that's not your real name, is it? When my Chief Medical Officer said your bio-signs were already in our ship's computers, I was surprised. When my First Officer said the only record to a 'Joel Chandler Harris' in our databanks was to a 19th Century American author, I was concerned. But when the computer core said I had accessed the ship's data while you were in the room, I knew what had happened. Your story of my Mirror counterpart's death is a lie."

Lee pointed an accusatory finger at Harris.

"You, sir, are the Remus Yue-chung Lee of the Mirror Universe!"

Harris stared blankly at Lee, before adopting a mocking pose and hand gestures as he confronted Lee.

"Oh, you got me, mirror me. That Orion **[REDACTED]** told me that this plan was flawless, and that's why I had all this cosmetic surgery done. Well, let me tell you that if she can outwit me, she can definitely outwit you."

Taylor pointed her phaser at Harris.

"Your Orion friend won't be going far," she warned him. "Our security officers already have her in custody."

"She's not the Orion you need to be concerned with," Harris retorted. "She's just a pawn like me, in a gigantic web that will catch everyone that my new master is weaving. If you want to not be eaten, you will do well to follow my lead and curry favor with her before it's too late."

"You have the right to remain silent," Taylor replied. "Security, take hi-"

Taylor's order was cut short by an explosion which rocked the ship. Chief of Operations Kovat Vystan reported from his station.

"Admiral, the Klingon shuttlepod in our shuttlebay suddenly turned on and flew into the shuttlebay doors!"

With the _Lord English_ crew distracted by the shuttlebay disaster, Harris pressed a button on his wrist device. The Klingon PADD in Lee's ready room emitted an electromagnetic pulse which disabled the bridge's systems for 0.5 seconds, but it was enough of a window for Harris to be beamed off the ship.

"What happened?" Lee yelled. "Where did Harris go?"

"Admiral!" the bridge replied. "There is a Klingon Bird-of-Prey heading away from the ship!"

A Klingon Bird-of-Prey decloaked from its hiding spot under the ventral hull of the _Lord English_ and flew away at 3/4 impulse. Before the _Lord English_ crew could react, the Bird-of-Prey escaped the ten-kilometer effective range of ship's weapons. As the _Lord English_ attempted to give chase, the Bird-of-Prey hailed the ship. Lee ordered the hail answered, and a well-dressed and familiar-looking Orion Matron appeared on the screen.

"Vice Admiral Lee, I must commend you for spoiling my plans!" she said. "Next time we meet, you will not be so lucky."

"So you reveal your true form, Aranea," Lee replied as he returned to the bridge .

The Orion scoffed.

"Don't call _me_ Aranea, that's the name for the piece of trash Mirror Orion I'm letting you keep. I have taken the name Vriska to show I am more superior. You may call me the Spider Marquess."

Lee motioned for the Lord English to keep pursuing the Bird-of-Prey, although the ponderous Odyssey was too slow and too hindered by the Briar Patch to keep up with the Klingon vessel. Before long, the Bird-of-Prey exited the Briar Patch into open space. The Bird-of-Prey hailed the _Lord English_ one last time before transwarping away.

"Be grateful that I have decided that you are more useful to me alive than dead, admiral," Vriska stated. "Rest assured that I will repay your insolence to me ten-fold once I have avenged myself on Melani D'ian and the rest of my enemies."

Lee stood flabbergasted as the Bird-of-Prey escaped with his Mirror counterpart. Soon, all traces of the Bird-of-Prey and its enigmatic occupants were gone, faded into background radiation. Were it not for the Orion being escorted onto the bridge by security, Lee could have sworn it was a crazy hasperat-induced dream.

* * *

 **Captain's log, supplemental. An insidious plot against my ship using my counterpart from the Mirror Universe was foiled. The Orion operative that was left behind professed no knowledge of the operation, or of my counterpart's actions; it would seem she was as taken in by the ruse as we were initially. Although her earnestness makes me believe her story about escaping the Mirror Universe with Mirror Me, Starfleet Intelligence will to grill her further. For now, my concerns are with her prime universe counterpart, named "Vriska", who seems like the kind of person who will make life hard for me for no reason.**


	6. LC06: The Sound of Cats

Literary Challenge #6: Not THAT guy...

 **LC06: The Sound of Cats**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 85446.8. The _Lord English_ has recently acquired a passenger from the Mirror Universe during some shenanigans with my mirror counterpart. We have diverted to Earth Spacedock so that this Aranea can be transferred into the hands of Starfleet Intelligence. Afterwards, if she is willing, I will offer her a position on my ship. In the meantime, Earth Spacedock has ordered us to stand by.**

* * *

"'cause suicide is painless, it brings on many changes, and I can take or leave it if I please~"

Vice Admiral Remus Lee, having absolutely nothing productive to do with his time, sang alone in his quarters into a small figurine of Fullmetal Alchemist character Riza Hawkeye when Commander Taylor contacted him over the internal comms.

"Admiral, Starfleet Command wants me to inform you that Ambassador Leijon of Cait has requested a tour of the _Lord English_ since it is the only Odyssey-class vessel currently at Earth."

Lee quickly hid his collectables away.

"Do you know when he will arrive?" Lee asked.

Taylor's reply was cut short by the sound of turbolifts and discreet conversations.

"Looks like he's already here, Admiral! You better get here quick!"

* * *

Commander Taylor normally liked cats. She once adopted a cat she found while hiking in the woods of her home province of Ontario, Canada. However, Ambassador Leijon took the worst traits of her cat, bundled it into humanoid form, and insist that she pay her respects on account of diplomacy. Ambassador Leijon swaggered casually around the bridge like an apex predator, with two close aides following at a safe distance. Presently, he stopped in front of the captain's chair. He put one foot on it.

"Executive officer, where is the commanding officer?" he asked.

"He was off shift when you arrived, Ambassador," she replied. "He should be coming to the bridge now."

Leijon did a backflip off the chair as a sign of disrespect.

"Not good enough, commander! We are in a state of war! Your commanding officer must be ready at all times to take command of his ship! I've known many captains whose ships were lost to enemy action because they were unable to react quickly enough to threats!"

Leijon sat in Lee's chair and began working on the armrest console. Taylor said nothing, but seethed inwardly. Soon, the schematics of the _Lord English_ appeared on the viewscreen.

"What cheek! An auxiliary craft instead of hanger bays? I defended Caitian space from the Jem'Hadar using two carrier groups, and they still don't take my advice! At the battle of Quebec Station XXIII, I..."

Ambassador Leijon rambled on about his tenure as Grand Commander of the Caitian Home Guard during the Dominion War. Taylor could only take solace in the fact that the aides were also unhappy with the ambassador as their eyes glazed over.

* * *

 _One does not normally see a Caitian wearing a sun bonnet and sundress, I reckon,_ Lee thought to himself as he noticed the young Caitian female looking timidly around Intersection F-3. He sidled up to her.

"Excu-"

Lee was unable to finish his greeting as the Caitian girl squealed in great panic, sending her bonnet and the contents of her handbag flying through the air and across the intersection. Hurriedly, she attempted to gather her belongings and put them back in her bag. Lee knelt down to try to help her.

"Whoa! Calm yourself, miss! What's your name?"

The Caitian girl seemed genuinely shocked at Lee's presence. For a while, Lee thought the girl was mewing much like a distressed kitten before realizing she was stuttering her name.

"Meu... Meu... Meu... Meulin."

She punctuated her response with deep blushing. Lee gathered her scattered belongings and put them back in her handbag.

"Well then, Miss Meulin, do you need any help?" he asked her. It took some time before she responded.

"I... I lost my papa..."

"What's his name, little lady? Would he happen to be an ambassador?"

Meulin continued to vacillate in her answers. Rather than involve security and expose her to more strangers, Lee decided to personally attend to the situation.

"Hey there, Miss Meulin, let's find your papa together, okey-dokey?" Lee said as he offered his hand to her. "Let's see if he's on the bridge."

With some trepidation, Meulin took Lee's hand.

* * *

"Your weapons systems consoles need to offer more customization options and loadout settings."

Taylor could only stand by and nod as Ambassador Leijon reprogrammed the tactical consoles that she had spent so long perfecting. Inwardly, she fumed, but held her tongue in the interests of interstellar goodwill. Leijon walked around the armory, swiping at phasers and munitions with his tail to knock them to the floor.

"You must put more effort in securing your weapons, commander! A misplaced phaser is the difference between life and death in a split-second situation! Plan out your armory to increase security without compromising accessibility! When Nausicaan raiders attacked my flagship in the aftermath of Hobus, I..."

The ambassador waxed on and on about his service as the grand commander of the Caitian Home Guard and his exploits of command. Taylor wondered if it would cause a diplomatic incident if she sprayed the ambassador with a water bottle.

Meanwhile...

Lee continued to take Meulin to various places around the ship in hopes of catching the ambassador. However, the ambassador was too impatient to stay in one place; furthermore, Meulin dallied in each location, transfixed by the wonders of the Odyssey-class vessel. Lee decided not to contact the ambassador as Meulin gazed at the projection of the Caitian homeworld in the astrometrics lab.

"What do you think? It's a real-time holo-image of Cait."

"It's pretty..." Meulin let slip. She quickly realized her outburst and blushed. Lee attempted to engage Meulin in further conversation.

"I've heard the current Caitian ambassador to the Federation was commander of Cait's defense forces during the Dominion War. He managed to preserve the integrity of Caitian space without great loss. Have you heard of him?"

Meulin continued to fidget, but Lee could tell from her body language that the ambassador was someone very close to her.

"Do you want to contact the ambassador on the comm system?" Lee asked.

Meulin vacillated some more, but after a while she spoke up.

"I... I don't mind looking at more of the ship."

Lee shrugged to himself and offered his hand again.

"Alright then, Miss Meulin, let's go to the next stop on the list. Computer, what is the last known location of the Caitian ambassador?"

* * *

Taylor's will to live continued to drain as Ambassador Leijon found fault with every function of the ship, from engineering to deflector control to the lounge to the Aquarius auxiliary craft. The ambassador toured twenty-three different sections of the ship before returning to the bridge.

"I'm disappointed, commander," Leijon snarled as he and his aides stepped onto the _Lord English_ 's bridge transporter. "This state-of-the-art flagship class starship is built for an idealized galaxy, not for the current realities of war. Tell your commanding officer I am sorry I cannot break the bad news to him personally, but I must meet with Starfleet Command at once on a matter of Federation security. Earth Spacedock, four to beam up."

At this moment, one of the ambassador's aides noticed the missing member of the diplomatic party and whispered something into Leijon's ear.

"WHAT?" he shouted. "How could you have lost track of my daughter? Commander Taylor, summon every security officer on your ship to the bridge at once! We must form search parties to search this ship top to bottom!"

Taylor was befuddled at the ambassador's change in demeanor.

"Ambassador, may I ask what is the problem?"

"There's no time! Put your ship on red alert! Who knows if she fell down a shaft or got stuck in a turbolift or found herself in an airlock!? We must track her down before something terrible happens!"

Taylor's patience wore even thinner.

"Who is this 'she' you're talking about? If you can give me more information, we might stand a chance of actually finding her!"

At that moment the 'she' in question walked onto the bridge in Admiral Lee's company. The ambassador leapt off the transporter pad.

"My daughter! Child of my late beloved!" Leijon roared.

"Papa!" Meulin squealed in return. The two Caitians began embracing ferociously.

"Child of mine!" Leijon purred. "Where have you been? I was overwhelmed with worry when I saw you were not by my side. Thank goodness you are safe!"

As an aside, one of the Caitian aides nudged Commander Taylor.

"He smothers the daughter too much, but then rushes on ahead and leaves her behind. If he'd slow down and shut up, he wouldn't lose his daughter so often."

Meulin pointed at Lee.

"A nice Human found me when I was lost in the ship. He took me to visit all the different places, papa."

Lee offered a hand to the ambassador.

"Vice Admiral Lee, CO of _Lord English_ at your service."

Leijon shook Lee's hand with fervor.

"Dear admiral, I am in your debt. I will never forget this great deed you have done me! Would you like your own Caitian Atrox Carrier? I was actually going to meet with Starfleet Command on the issue of selling Cait's surplus carriers to support the war effort."

Lee finished shaking Leijon's hand and attempted to rub some feeling back into it.

"Maybe later, Ambassador. I hope my executive officer was a good host in my absence."

Leijon and Meulin stepped on to the transporter pad and beamed out. Lee and Taylor could see Meulin blushing and waving goodbye before being transported off the ship.

"Well, that was an interesting turn of events!" Lee said with pride. "I certainly enjoyed my time with my Caitian delegate, even if she took a while to warm up to me. What did you think about Ambassador Leijon? Was he tight-lipped as well?"

Taylor wondered if hitting her commanding officer with a paper fan was a court-martial offense.

* * *

 **Captain's log, supplemental. Starfleet Command has struck a deal with the Caitian Home Guard to buy some of its surplus supercarriers to join the Klingon War effort. Also joining the effort is our Mirror Universe Orion, who has been cleared by Starfleet Intelligence to serve in Starfleet. Once she finishes her crash course at the Academy, I will be more than willing to welcome her aboard the _Lord English_.**


	7. LC07: Lord English Sketch

Literary Challenge #7: The Best and Brightest

 **LC07: _Lord English_ Sketch**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 85482.36. Due to continued crew attrition as a result of enemy action, the _Lord English_ is taking on a new complement of personnel. Among them will be Starfleet Academy cadets on the Academy Abroad program. These cadets will get a little exposure to life on board a starship for class credit; with any luck, they won't be exposed to the more violent aspects of life on board a starship too soon.**

* * *

"I'm finally finished!"

Cadet Juno Poplar Inselart finished moving her belongings to her side of her quarters on Deck 8. She had never been out of the Sol System before; even studying at the Academy, she always took a shuttle back to her home in New Berlin. She began missing her parents and her dog, Barklay, more than ever, now that she only had a small terminal connecting her and her family. Before the full force of her malaise brought her to tears, however, the door to the cadets' quarters and a blonde-haired Bajoran walked in with a pot of brine.

"You're just in time to make hasparat!" she said.

* * *

"So you're a sophomore at the Academy too?" the Bajoran asked while stirring the brine.

"Yes. My name is Juno Inselart, and I'm in the Sciences School," she replied while folding hasperat. "Are you my roommate?"

"Sure am. I'm Garaze Rela, and I'm a sophomore on the tactical track. I've only been on this ship a month. Can you pass me that hasperat when you're done?"

Juno passed her a wrapped hasperat before starting on another one. Rela stuck several skewers through the hasperat before placing it in the brine. She then added a cup of live gagh before bringing the brine to a boil, driving the gagh to burrow into the hasperat. Juno stared wide-eyed at the Bajoran's avant-garde cuisine.

"I like fusion cuisine, you see," Rela explained with a grin. Juno decided to ask a different question rather than focus on the squirming of the gagh.

"So why did you come onto the ship so early?" she asked. "It took me a long time to decide on Academy Abroad because it would have been harder to go home if I was travelling all the time."

"Well, I was thinking about how often I'd be able to go back home if I was Academy Abroad," Rela answered. "so I signed up to Abroad on the _Lord English_ because one of its ports of call is Deep Space 9. From there it's a shuttlehop back to Dahkur Province."

Juno marveled at her roommate's canniness. Soon, the hasperat was finished and the two cadets partook of the meal. To Juno's delighted surprise, the gagh-hasperat was spicy and crunchy. Rela put two more hasperats in bowls and gave one to Juno to carry.

"Hey," she said to Juno. "Can you help me carry this to the room down the hall? The two juniors there helped me a lot when I moved in, so I want to return the favor with food."

The two sophomores moved down the hall, taking care not to spill brine on the ship's carpeted floor. Along the way, they encountered a young Klingon female working on a wall console.

"Well! If it isn't the new cadets!" she said.

"Hello there!" Rela said. "I'm Garaze Rela and this is Juno Inselart. She just moved in today as part of Academy Abroad's science program."

Juno waved with her free hand.

"Science, eh? Well then, I'm in the science department too, so we'll be working together often. My name's Kira. I'd like to chat, but I have many things to do, so I'll see you later."

With that, Kira and the two cadets parted ways.

"She doesn't seem that much older than us," Rela said. "I wonder if she's a cadet like us."

"I hope I get along with her, since she seems so friendly," Juno replied.

* * *

Eventually they reached their destination, where they found a sign on the door reading:

 _Nobody is home to receive gifts._

Juno glanced at Rela, who had a big grin on her face.

"That must be Idouna's work. She must have picked up that she was coming."

Giving a bowl of hasperat to Juno, she fished in her pockets for emergency door activators. Inside the room, a voice could be heard.

"Rela! You don't really need to come in with worms in food!"

With a burst of strength, Rela pulled open the doors to the cadet quarters and was instantly smashed in the face with a pillow. Juno stared wide-eyed at the crimson-haired Betazoid as she turned her gaze from Rela to Juno.

"Oh! You must be Rela's new roommate!"

* * *

"My name is Idouna Stadi. I'm a junior in the science program of Academy Abroad."

"Wow, I'm in the science program too! I'm Juno Inselart, a sophomore."

"Nice to meet you, Juno, I hope we'll find ourselves working together more often."

Juno and Idouna sat around a floor table of intricate Betazoid design while Rela consumed one of the bowls of hasperat. Idouna could feel Juno's anxieties and set about reassuring her.

"Don't worry about spending time away from home, Juno. The community aboard the _Lord English_ is very helpful and you can ask any of us to help you get settled in."

Rela looked up from her hasperat.

"Some of the cadets in my class were a bit put off when I said I was going to the _Lord English_ , though. Apparently there's a reputation that _Lord English_ attracts the Academy's misfits because the ship captain's so lax. That's so rude of them, don't you think?"

"I... did not know that," Juno replied with a shocked face. Idouna could sense Juno's confidence slipping and changed the subject.

"Juno, did you meet up with the head of the science department?" Idouna asked. "I think you have to check in with her so that your course credits are fulfilled while on board the vessel."

"Oh! I didn't know that," Juno replied. "Who is the head of the science department and where should I find her?"

"She should be in the science lab, I think," Idouna replied. "I think her name is Commander Kira. She's a Klingon not much older than I am and... wait, did you already meet her?"

Idouna didn't need to be a telepath to sense Juno's sudden realization or her embarrassment. Juno covered her head with her hands with the knowledge that she missed the chance to make a good first impression.

"Well, well, first impressions aren't everything," Idouna replied reassuringly. "If you ever need anything you can always come to me for help."

"And if I ever need anything, you can come to me to help!" Rela shouted triumphantly, getting another pillow upside the head for her troubles. Juno giggled. Life aboard _Lord English_ might be cozier than she thought.

"Look at the time," Idouna said while glancing at her watch. "I should be preparing some food for my roommate, she should be coming back right now."

As if on cue, the door to the cadet quarters opened and a blue-skinned Saurian covered in blood with two swords walked in. Juno yelped.

"B-b-bl-blood!" she cried.

"Wait, Juno, it's fake blood!" Idouna said. "Salin is part of the _Lord English_ 's drama club."

However, it was too late. Juno had already fainted.

* * *

When Juno came to, she found herself in her room surrounded by Rela, Idouna, and Idouna's Saurian roommate, Salin. Salin was extremely apologetic.

"I'm truly sorry about that," she said. "The drama club was finishing up practice of an old Earth drama. It's about soldiers trying to defend their city from giant creatures trying to eat them."

"It's OK," Juno replied. "I was just shocked when you came in, but I'm better now."

Juno looked around her room. Rela, Idouna, and Salin were tidying up Juno's half of the room.

"You-you don't have to do this, everybody," she cried. "I can handle cleaning up my room."

"Don't worry about it, Juno," Rela responded. "We're all in this together, us misfits of the _Lord English_."

The grins from Idouna and Salin reassured Juno of her new friends' honest intent.

 _I thought that I wouldn't be able to take living away from home well when I first came here,_ she thought to herself, _but now I think I'll enjoy the chance to start living independently._

Juno left her bed and joined the other cadets in cleaning the room.

* * *

 **Captain's log, supplemental. The _Lord English_ has finished the transfer of cadets and is ready to break orbit and go off into space. All stations have reported nominal conditions; everyone we expected on the ship is aboard the ship. As the first order of business, I have ordered the _Lord English_ into the Delta Volanis Cluster for an easy exploration mission to ease the new cadets in. I hope we'll see more of them in the future.**


	8. LC08: A Prize in Deep Space

Literary Challenge #8: Unknown Anomalies

 **LC08: A Prize in Deep Space**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 85801.35. The war with the Klingons has reignited the ambitions of the Federation's less friendly neighbors, many of which have flocked to the Imperial banner for the chance to avenge past slights and grow rich on Federation plunder. A recent coup on the homeworld of one of these neighbors has resulted in the expulsion of Federation-mandated weapons inspectors and the formation of a new government which has immediately declared its allegiance to the Klingon Empire. The _Lord English_ is being sent to Corinth IV to meet with members of the deposed government to sound out the situation and recommend a course of action.**

* * *

"The new government has censored the old name of the species as being a construct of the old Patriarchy. They now insist that we call them 'Ferasans'."

Vice Admiral Remus Lee sat at his ready room desk talking about the current Ferasan situation with the commander of Corinth IV's Starbase, Commander Josefina Dominguez. Lee was quickly learning a lot about the Ferasans.

"Starfleet Intelligence believes Klingon agents fomented the coup by inciting the oppressed groups like females and telepaths into open revolt and using the chaos to install a pro-Klingon puppet government," Dominguez noted. "The Ferasans have adopted a Klingon-style political system which has rallied support from the general populace. The only groups that are still oppressed are vegetarians and pacifists."

Lee tented his fingers as he leaned back in his chair.

"I understand the need to deny the Klingons every advantage in this war, but the old Patriarchy was just as hostile to us in addition to being a cruel dictatorship. Are we really thinking of returning them to power and consigning the Ferasans to continued tyranny?"

Dominguez shrugged.

"It's a sticky situation, but the Caitian government has insisted that we entertain the notion. At least the old Patriarchy was controllable. These new Ferasans may be bold enough with Klingon support to attack Federation and especially Caitian targets. I don't have to tell you of the bad blood between the species."

At that moment, Chief of Operations Kovat Vystan hailed Lee over comms.

"Admiral, we've detected an unknown anomaly about 33 parsecs off our starboard bow. Just so you know, if we investigate it, it will add a considerable delay to our journey."

"Admiral," Dominguez cut in. "Any delay in your transit here may greatly offend the Patriarchs. They are already unruly enough. If they have to wait long, they may break off the negotiations."

Lee weighed his duties as a diplomat against his explorative desires. Can he allow his curiosity to remain unsated just to attend what he expected to be a diplomatic no-win scenario? Then he remembered a key feature of the Odyssey starship's tactical refit.

"Lee to Bridge, prepare the auxiliary craft for launch."

* * *

The B'rel Bird-of-Prey _Claw of Ferasa_ (ex-IKS _Wo'_ ) scouted Federation space under cloak for a soft target of opportunity to be Ferasa's first conquest in the Federation War. On board, Klingon military advisor M'kota watched the Ferasan crew effortlessly work the bird-of-prey's controls. Ferasan Captain Rrikker ordered the operations officer to put their recent scan of the sector on the main viewer.

"Captain," Ops replied. "we've detected two Federation ships on long-range scanners. They are in close proximity to each other but based on their current trajectories, they will be out of each other's combat range in 15 minutes."

"Close to four kellicams distance of both ships," Rrikker ordered. "Once they break off, we will be able to attack at our leisure."

M'kota was pleased at how readily the Ferasans adopted a Klingon mindset. For most of their history the Ferasans were an enthralled species. The governing Patriarchy enforced a strict caste system that denied rights to all but the strongest Ferasans, yet the Patriarchs were in turn enthralled by the Federation, which had forcibly disarmed Ferasans after a series of lopsided wars. As a result the common Ferasan was a creature twice oppressed by the villainous Patriarchs and the unconcerned Federation. It was a situation ripe for Klingon Intelligence to exploit.

"Captain! We have visuals on the Federation vessels! It is an Odyssey-class dreadnought and its Aquarius mission pod. What are your orders?"

"Steady as she goes, bekk!" Rrikker ordered. "We can't fight off both ships, but we still have the element of surprise so we must wait for the moment to strike!"

M'kota stared at Rrikker with a teacher's pride. When M'kota first found her, she was penned up in a cage owned by a minor Patriarch's retainer, a result of being both female and a telepath. She had purchased Rrikker from her master and spirited her away to train in the Klingon style on Qo'noS. When Rrikker returned to Ferasa, it was with a legion of likeminded Klingon-trained and Klingon-armed Ferasans, which quickly incited revolt and overthrew the Patriarchy. Now Qo'noS and Ferasa were bound by blood; Qo'noS would supply the arms and Ferasa would supply the army. A mutually beneficial relationship never before seen in Klingon history to be sure.

"The dreadnought is now out of support range from the mission pod. Your orders, captain?"

"Power weapons and close on the mission pod! Fire when you see the name on their ship!"

The _Claw of Ferasa_ quickly closed in on the unsuspecting mission pod, malice and confidence in the minds of each Ferasan crew member.

* * *

 **Captain's log, supplemental. My diplomatic mission has been thwarted when my auxiliary craft was set upon by an opportunistic Klingon raider. Although we were able to drive it off, we were forced to eject our warp core as it began to breach. As a result, we were unable to make it to Corinth IV to meet with the Patriarchs, who left the station in a huff. To make matters worse, the anomaly that I sent to _Lord English_ to investigate turned out only to be a block of methane ice around a long-discarded leaky gas tank that some litterbug freighter crew tossed. Starfleet Command will not be pleased that I sacrificed my mission in favor of passed gas.**


	9. LC09: Super Cruise Ship Level Detective

Literary Challenge #9: Shore Leave

 **LC09: Super Cruise Ship Level Detective**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 85831.35. The _Lord English_ has returned from an exhaustive botanical survey in the Arucanis Arm. Casualties were high, as a full 40% of my crew had to be hospitalized due to exhaustion during our discovery of over three hundred new plant species. Starfleet Medical has declared a minor medical emergency for our ship and has mandated a week's shore leave for the entire crew. I will use this time off to catch up on my sleep... zzz...**

* * *

Commander Drevis Indoril Nethri's vacation started off poorly. His baggage with his vacation clothes went missing between the _Lord English_ and the Zibalian pleasure ship _Queen Tomobiki_ , leaving him only with his Starfleet officer's uniform. This drew a lot of unwanted attention from other passengers. Members of the Stacius Trade Guild kept throwing shade in his direction for being a Federation toady. The New Essentialists that saw him hurled hellfire and brimstone and lectured him on proper morality. A Nausicaan Marauder named Kazzgur tried to pick a fight with him and succeeded mainly in spilling bloodwine on his uniform. At the dinner hour, Drevis stumbled into the Jovis Lounge in need of a stiff drink and ready to turn in and put the Starfleet-bathers behind him. The Draylaxian bartender gave him a Tranya Screwdriver, which Drevis nursed pitifully as he watched the Orion lounge singer belt out a soulful tune.

 _Remember my name_

 _I'm gonna live forever_

 _I feel it coming together_

 _People will see me and cry_

 _I'm gonna make it to heaven_

 _Light up the skies like a flame_

 _I'm gonna live forever_

 _Baby, remember my name_

After plenty of drinks, Drevis stopped feeling sorry enough for himself to drag himself out of the Jovis lounge and back to his quarters at room 938. When he got there, however, he encountered the same Orion singer that he watched from the Jovis lounge bar.

"Well, hello there, Mr. Sad Face! What's a Starfleet officer doing aboard a den of hedonism like the _Queen Tomobiki_?"

Drevis, soused and desperate for a friendly face, struck up a conversation with this mysterious stranger.

"I used to run with the Stacius Trade Guild before joining Starfleet. My ship often did business with Zibalian cruise liners, and I've heard the rumors about how they're even more debauched than even Risian vessels."

"Well, you don't seem too pleased with the ship," the Orion cooed as she slipped an arm around Drevis' waist.

"My first day on board was pretty awful, truthfully," Drevis admitted.

"Aw, my poor abused officer," the Orion said as she stroked his chest with her hand. "Why don't you come over to my room for a raktajino?"

Drevis, intoxicated by alcohol and Orion pheromones, was unable to resist being drawn into her quarters. Soon both Drevis and the Orion had divested themselves of their clothes.

"Why don't know we find out just how much more debauched a Zibalian cruise liner can really be," the Orion whispered as she began **[REDACTED]** his **[REDACTED]** with her **[REDACTED]**. Returning the favor, Drevis vigorously **[REDACTED]** her **[REDACTED]** , and soon they progressed to **[REDACTED]** he put it in **[REDACTED]** which was not its intended use, but **[REDACTED]** into the replicator **[REDACTED]** into the early morning, at which point **[REDACTED]**. When Drevis woke up, he found himself alone in her bed, no trace of her except for her **[REDACTED]** around his **[REDACTED]**.

 _Probably at the lounge, maybe I can catch her there,_ he thought as he gathered up his uniform. Rather than impose on her further, Drevis decided to take a shower back at his room. He slipped quietly across the corridor back to his room and was surprised to see his Orion lover lying on his bed, her body dripping wet and as naked as their night of passion. A steak knife protruded from her chest as her blood stained the sheets...

* * *

Commander Aranea Serket was alarmed when she learned her first mission as Security Chief of the _Lord English_ was to investigate the involvement of the ship's tactical officer and former security chief in a murder on a Zibalian pleasure ship. Upon her arrival she was hustled into the office of Gejic Vysu, Zibalian Chief of Security aboard _Queen Tomobiki_. One of her security officers had placed a holographic camera on her desk, and she turned it on to show the crime scene.

"Welcome, Commander. As you know, your Starfleet officer has been accused of a crime against an employee of the _Queen Tomobiki_ , an Orion singer named Miree. Our captain has ordered him jailed as the primary suspect in the murder, and in four hours, we will reach Theta Zibal II and your Commander Nethri will be tried in a Zibalian court. Unfortunately for your investigation, the Captain has deemed it necessary to suppress any information about a murder on his ship and has ordered the crime scene cleaned up."

The news struck Aranea full in the chest; this was an egregious breach of protocol.

"What kind of captain would destroy the scene of a crime and jail a man who might still be innocent? Can you vouch that the captain is innocent in all this?"

"Zibalian law dictates that during the operation of a pleasure ship, the captain has absolute authority over all shipboard situations. Our captain has decided that the good name of the ship is worth the freedom of a Starfleet officer. As to his involvement, he has been on the bridge between the time Miree was seen alive last and when her body was discovered. The entire bridge crew will vouch for that."

Chief Vysu handed Aranea the holographic camera.

"I've been able to reserve an entire holosuite for you to aid in your investigation. In this camera is a complete physical recreation of the crime scene, accurate to the last millimeter. I have also allowed you access to the deceased's belongings and the use of my entire security staff. Unfortunately, the captain will not allow you to question anybody or leave the security office except to go to the holosuite, so as not to alarm the passengers. You have my sincerest apologies, Commander, but this is the best I can do under Zibalian law."

Aranea was quite put off with this stonewalling by the Zibalian ship captain, but she knew that she could not waste time arguing about something she couldn't change. She took the camera and headed out the door.

"Even if Commander Nethri was guilty, this obstruction of justice is totally unacceptable, Chief Vysu. You can expect a complaint from the Federation Council."

"I sympathize with you, Commander Serket. I would like nothing more than to find the real culprit, and I wish you all the luck that you will find him or her."

* * *

 _Victim: Miree, Orion singer, Jovis Lounge. Age 20. Several stab wounds to chest and abdomen, defensive wounds on arms, cause of death: exsanguination._

Aranea was unimpressed with the amount of data the Zibalian computer had on the murder victim. If she had a more detailed report, one with some forensic analyses, she might be able to wrap up the investigation faster. As it was, Zibalian pleasure ships did not have much in the way of crime scene investigation. She examined the body of the dead Orion.

Miree had died on her back, facing the entrance. Her empty gaze stared into the ceiling. Her right hand was empty, facing palm up. Curiously, her left hand had drawn the number '938' into the bedsheet. As '938' was Drevis' room number, the _Queen Tomobik_ i's captain took this as proof of Drevis' guilt and imprisoned him. The steak knife was a standard Zibalian knife, easily replicated. Aranea's eyes turned to the holographic slug steak on the far end table next to the bed. It was untouched; the murderer had obviously replicated it for the sole purpose of obtaining the knife that killed Miree.

As for forensic evidence, Aranea was stymied by the fact there was none. Blood and DNA was all purely holographic and had no data to mine. The knife lacked fingerprints because they were too fine for the holocamera to scan. Even the replicator had no data to offer, although that was because the Zibalians didn't save voice patterns for privacy's sake. It was going to be an uphill battle, Aranea thought to herself, but if life was easy, she wouldn't have joined Starfleet. She began systematically looking at each item in the simulation in the hopes that one of them would provide a clue.

 **Two hours later...**

Aranea's determined efforts to find a clue had finally paid off. The slug steak was the key; Aranea noticed that it was on the far side of the room, but if Miree was between it and the killer, the killer could not have grabbed the knife from there. She examined the slug steak carefully, and, lo and behold, she found a clue, a small metallic number '8'. She didn't know what it meant, but she had an idea.

"Chief Vysu, can you go to Room 938? I want you to check the numbers to the door."

A few minutes passed before Chief Vysu replied.

"I'm at room 938, but for some reason the number on the door is '937'. I don't know why we didn't notice it before, but I just used the map on my PADD to get here, so..."

"Chief, can you check to see if Miree's room has a '7'?"

A pause while Chief Vysu checked.

"There's no '7' on it. What do you think this means, Commander?"

"It means whoever switched the numbers wanted someone to think that Commander Nethri's room was Miree's room. Come back to the security office, I want to look at something with you."

* * *

Aranea and Chief Vysu spread all of Miree's worldly belonging on the evidence table. They were mostly skimpy clothes, makeup, and perfumes, but some other items were also found. Aranea pointed out the microadhesive applier.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like a generic microadhesive applier used by many of the species in the sector."

Chief Vysu took the applier in her hands.

"It has been used recently," she said as she felt its weight in her hands. "It isn't impossible to say that she could have used it to switch the numbers around. Now take a look at this."

Chief Vysu pointed out a ship's manifest PADD. Room 938 had been selected on the PADD, displaying Drevis' name and picture.

"It seems our Orion singer knew that Commander Nethri was in the room across from hers. This encounter looks less random and more premeditated, but why would Miree want to switch the numbers around?"

Aranea rummaged around the evidence pile and found an isolinear chip.

"This might explain it. Let's see what's on the chip."

She put the chip inside a different PADD. Stored on the chip were a series of lurid messages between Miree and an unidentified recipient. They had started off erotically enough, with much visual evidence of Miree, but later messages became more confrontational and heated with death threats. The last message, dated last evening, stated:

 _I can't live like this anymore. Come to Room 937 so we can put an end to this._

Aranea began piecing the evidence together in her head and suggested a theory to Chief Vysu.

"It seems to me that Miree seems to have had a falling out with somebody, and may have even wanted to kill that person. She might have wanted to lure that somebody to Drevis' room so that she could kill him and frame Drevis for the murder, but she was killed instead."

"If that is the case, then who do you think is the real culprit? We won't be able to ask any of the passengers if they knew Miree, and we certainly won't be able to arrest the suspect without any proof."

Aranea thought long and hard about the situation, but then she had an epiphany.

"I think I might have an idea who the killer is, but I need to look at that passenger manifest again. We may have known all along who it was."

* * *

The _Queen Tomobiki_ was a flurry of activity as the ship got ready to dock at Theta Zibal II. A swarthy and well-dressed Human was headed towards the disembarkation deck with his two aides carrying his luggage when the three were stopped by Chief Vysu and Aranea.

"Excuse me, sir," Aranea asked. "Do you have a moment? I would like to ask you some questions."

"I have no time for Orions or Zibalians," he replied brusquely. "I am late for a lecture at the Federation Embassy on Theta Zibal II."

He tried to shoulder his way through, but could not get pass. Aranea grabbed his arm, forcing him to wince acutely.

"Get your hands off me! Don't you know who I am? I am Samir Beghilos, leader of the New Essentialists! I will not be detained by anyone, especially an Orion Starfleet officer."

"Then allow me, as ship's security, to make my own inquiries," Chief Vysu said as she pulled up the sleeves of Beghilos' robe. Various defensive wounds were found on his arms.

"Those look pretty nasty, Mr. Beghilos," Aranea noted. "How did you get them?"

"I am a Federation citizen, and I have rights!" he retorted. "I will make a complaint to Starfleet and the Zibalian government about the rough treatment I am currently getting! I will have your jobs!"

"If that's the way you're playing, then we'll cut to the chase," Aranea replied. "Are you acquainted with an Orion singer named Miree?"

"I don't consort with Orions," he seethed. "You lot corrupt the Federation's moral standing with your own hedonistic tendencies. Now let me go!"

"Then I wonder who Miree sent that last message to," Aranea said as she nonchalantly pulled out the PADD with Miree's chip on it. "Let's find out, shall we? Forward to last recipient and send!"

Aranea sent Miree's last message back to its intended recipient. The song "Fame" began playing from Beghilos' front pocket as it began to vibrate. Beghilos tried not to pay attention to it, but one of his aides fished in Beghilos' front pocket and took out a PADD which he handed to Aranea. Miree's last message was displayed prominently on the front.

"Can you explain this, Mr. Beghilos?" Chief Vysu asked.

The two aides stepped back from Beghilos. Beghilos knew that his association with Miree tainted him in their eyes, and recognized that he was now tainted in the eyes of the other New Essentialists. He decided to come clean.

"It was an accident. She had invited me over to her room to kill me! It was a kill or be killed situation, so when I fought back, I didn't think of anything except my survival. I didn't know I was killing her until it was too late! I didn't intend to kill her, I loved her! You must believe me when I say that!"

"That is for the magistrate to decide," Chief Vysu proclaimed as she clasped him in restraints. "Samir Beghilos, you are now being taken into custody under Zibalian law for the murder of a Zibalian pleasure ship employee. Take him away."

Beghilos was led off the ship by Zibalian security. Chief Vysu turned to Aranea.

"We would not have solved this case if it wasn't for you, Commander. I will arrange for the immediate release of your officer."

* * *

 **Captain's Log, supplemental. Our new Security Chief has successfully returned from her first mission with our Chief Tactical Officer. Once I have debriefed them, we will proceed to Theta Zibal II to tend to the diplomatic turmoil that has erupted in the wake of the arraignment of New Essentialist leader Samir Beghilos. As for our Chief Tactical Officer, the captain of the _Queen Tomobiki_ has refused to offer an apology to him.**

* * *

"So how did you figure out it was Beghilos?"

Commanders Drevis Nethri and Aranea Serket were in the turbolift after debriefing with Vice Admiral Lee. Drevis had many questions to ask her as he was stuck in a windowless room the whole time of his affair.

"When I found out that Miree had set up the whole room switch to frame you for someone else's murder, I realized that she did not expect to die in your room, but once she knew she was dying, she decided to try to out the killer. The '938' in the sheets was actually the letters 'BEG' for Beghilos. It was just that she wrote them in a different perspective from us. From there it was just a matter of finding the only 'BEG' on board the ship."

"Good glory, I don't ever want to set foot on a Zibalian cruise liner again," Drevis bemoaned. "That was the worst time of my life."

"You didn't enjoy any of your trip?" Aranea asked as she leaned playfully in.

"Well, that night with Miree was unforgettable, Azura rest her soul, but to think she did that all to try to frame me..."

Aranea began stroking Drevis' chest in a seductive manner.

"Miree may have had an ulterior motive for spending the night with you, but she cared enough about you to make sure you wouldn't be convicted of her death. Orions have a strange way of showing loyalties to people they care about."

Aranea broke away from Drevis as the turbolift reached her floor.

"If you ever need me for anything, you know where my quarters are, Commander Nethri. My doors are always open for anything. And I mean _anything_."

She left Drevis, feeling flustered yet intrigued, in the turbolift.


	10. LC10: Stopped Cold

Literary Challenge #10: Replicator Rations

 **LC10: Stopped Cold**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 88587.52. A recent resurgence of Breen attacks on Deferi vessels has concerned Starfleet Command enough to send the _Lord English_ to the Orellius Sector Block to show the flag. For our part, we will remind the Breen that the Federation will not abandon the Deferi in their time of need.**

* * *

Vice Admiral Remus Lee's thoughts turned to the Kobayashi Maru scenario as he surveyed what remained of his bridge. Much like the infamous test, the day's events started with a distress call from the Deferi freighter _Fegtau_. When the _English_ arrived at the ship's location, the twenty ships of the Breen Deep Space Fleet turned their attention to the new arrival and within the first thirty seconds, the _English_ had suffered crippling damage to all of its major systems. Forced to choose between the doomed freighter and his own ship, Lee ordered an immediate retreat, stopping only to transport the bridge crew off the _Fegtau_.

A few light-years out, the port nacelle of _Lord English_ snapped off, leaving the ship spinning dead in deep space as the nacelle continued its journey back to Federation space. With great difficulty, the crew managed to bring the ship under control. Unfortunately, the ship was still stuck in deep space without faster than light drive or subspace communications, far from any friendly outpost or shipping lanes. Lee had to determine how much of the ship still worked and what can be done to ensure everyone could return home, but first he decided to see if anyone was rescued off the _Fegtau_.

"Security teams to Transporter Room 1! We have a situation developing here!"

Chief of Security Aranea Serket arrived at the transporter room to see a Deferi grappling with a Breen soldier. Fearing for the Deferi's life, Aranea tossed a stun grenade into the room. A bright flash disoriented the two brawlers, allowing security to apprehend the Breen. The Deferi continued to fight regardless, until he was also restrained. Lee arrived as the two new passengers were led away.

"What is going on over here?" he asked.

"We beamed a Breen aboard with the captain of the freighter," the transporter chief responded. "Looks like those two are the only ones we got intact."

"What do you mean by that, chief?"

"Transporter system was hit during the beamout; I had to reroute the rest of the bridge crew's patterns to Transporter Room 2, but that was heavily damaged in the fighting. The result... well I've already requested biohazard cleanup crews to come..."

The transporter chief shuddered.

"We are getting out of this alive, right, Admiral?" he asked.

"Even if it kills us, Chief," Lee said in a poor attempt at humor. After awkward silences, everyone dispersed.

* * *

The general mood aboard _Lord English_ was one of cautious optimism, the feeling that survival was possible despite all the difficulties that had happened. Lee had to make sure that the crew continued to believe in success while he and the senior staff dealt with the realities of the situation.

"We lost 97 crewmembers during the skirmish," First Officer Kay Taylor reported. "Of the other crewmembers, 453 are grievously injured and require medical attention at a starbase."

"Phasers and torpedo systems are FUBAR, Admiral," Chief Tactical Officer Drevis Nethri warned. "If the Breen come knocking, we won't be able to stop them from attacking."

"We have lost the port nacelle, and that has caused us to leak a large amount of electro-plasma," Chief Engineer T'Shaanat stated. "Our remaining reserves are contaminated with polarons from the skirmish and may degrade the EPS system faster."

"The subspace comms relay has been completely destroyed," Chief Science Officer Kira griped. "We won't be able to send out a distress signal that anyone friendly will pick up in time."

"Sickbay has suffered extensive damage and cannot manage the amount of wounded we have," Chief Medical Officer Four of Thirteen commented. "We will also run out of emergency medical supplies in three days."

"Most of the ship's systems are barely functioning, but the ones in need of the most immediate response are life support and replicators," Chief of Operations Kovat Vystan noted wryly. "I've been able to stabilize the systems by running connections through what's left of the auxiliary craft, but this is a fragile solution at best."

Lee grimly absorbed all the information.

"Do we have any good news for a change of pace?"

Aranea raised her hand.

"All security sections are reporting that they are operating normally," she chimed in. Shipboard defenses and the armory also report normal operations, and security condition is normal."

Just then, a security alert rang out.

"Security to Cargo Bay 2, repeat, Security to Cargo Bay 2."

Aranea shrugged in disbelief.

"Looks like I spoke too soon. That was ill-timed."

Lee took a deep sigh.

"Alright, team, back to work. Let's keep the ship from falling apart any further."

With the meeting adjourned, the officers returned to their posts preoccupied with their own concerns.

* * *

"Murderers! Killers! Balance wreckers!"

In the makeshift sickbay that was Cargo Bay 2, security personnel struggled to keep the rescued Deferi from assaulting the captured Breen being treated at the same time. Soon Aranea was on scene.

"What's the situation? Who is in charge?" she asked.

"Lieutenant Lennox, reporting," a combat medic replied. "I was treating the Deferi when security brought the Breen prisoner for treatment. The Deferi went berserk and tried to attack the Breen."

The Deferi struggled against the security officers.

"These Breen are cold and heartless barbarians!" he cried. "Each Breen life comes at the cost of a Deferi life lost to slavery or outright murder!"

"Calm down, sir," Aranea responded. "This is no time for hysteria."

"How can I be calm?" the Deferi retorted. "I have lost three ships and crews to the Breen. My brother was beaten to death in front of me, and my wife is somewhere toiling in a Breen prison camp. Until you find yourself at the mercy of the Breen, you cannot understand anguish."

Tears flowed from the Deferi as he tried vainly to break free of security. Meanwhile, the Breen prisoner stood impressive, unfazed by the Deferi's emotional outbursts. Aranea turned to Lieutenant Lennox.

"Can't we separate these two?"

"Cargo Bay 2 is the only available medical facility," the lieutenant responded. "The only alternative is to leave the Breen untreated in the brig."

"Would that be allowed?" a wounded security ensign asked. "I think if the situation were reversed, the Breen would surely leave a Starfleet officer untreated in a brig."

"Stow that talk, ensign," Aranea ordered. "We're Starfleet officers, not Breen. We care for our prisoners. Lieutenant, set up a temporary holding cell for the Breen, and put the Deferi's biobed on the opposite end of the bay."

Lieutenant Lennox acknowledged her orders and went about implementing them. Privately, Aranea wondered if leaving the Breen prisoner alive was too much of a liability, but decided that unless things were about to get worse, it was not her place to decide.

* * *

"Things are about to get worse, people."

Admiral Lee gathered his senior officers around what was left of the bridge's main viewscreen. Prominently displayed was the unmistakable silhouette of a Breen Chel Grett warship traversing deep space for prey.

"The long range sensors picked up the signal about three minutes ago," Kira reported. "Currently, we are still outside their own maximum sensor range, but without light speed, we won't be able to escape detection. In fifteen minutes, they will detect us. Fifteen more minutes and they'll be on our position."

"We still have no defense against another ship," Drevis reminded the others. "All the arrays and launchers are scrap, so unless somebody wants to make a giant slingshot and fling quantum torpedoes at the Breen, there's nothing to stop them from shooting out our life support and stealing the survivors as slaves."

The officers discussed the situation amongst themselves.

"We have the numerical advantage in terms of crew," Aranea insisted. "The Chel Grett's crew capacity is 650 beings; even with our own casualties, we outnumber them almost four to one."

"How are we supposed to use our crew numbers against them?" Four responded. "As soon as the Breen notice the threat, they will raise shields and destroy our ship systems before we can get close enough to board their ship."

"Not to mention that transporters are barely functional and the auxiliary craft and shuttlecrafts are not spaceworthy," Kovat added. "About the only thing left that can fly is the chevron section, but that's about as capable as a pie plate for boarding ships."

Commander Taylor put in her thoughts.

"What if we split the crew in half? If the chevron and stardrive sections attack at the same time, one of them is bound to get close enough to land an assault squad."

T'Shaanat shook her head.

"The amount of time needed to land a sizable enough force to take a Chel Grett warship is more than the amount of time that warship needs to evade both sections. This plan would only work if the Breen ship was immobilized long enough, but none of the operational systems are capable of such a feat."

The officers returned to grumbling amongst themselves, until an alert from the bridge brought all discussion to a close.

"Admiral! The Breen ship has detected us on long range sensors and has changed course to intercept us! ETA 15 minutes!"

Lee turned to his officers with an air of finality.

"We have fifteen minutes before the Breen start taking prisoners. I'm willing to entertain any idea no matter how silly. If there is a place and time for creative thinking, it's now, people."

* * *

Thot Jek, captain of the Breen ship _Skotta_ , was displeased with his share of the plunder from the raid on the Deferi freighter. In anger, he ordered his ship to depart from the Breen Deep Space Fleet so as to hunt for his own prize. Now was his chance to reap untold treasure for himself; Jek's sensors officer reported a Federation vessel disabled in deep space, an easy target for an experienced Breen raiding party. In the electronic series of buzzing that composed the Breen language, Jek ordered the _Skotta_ to intercept the Federation vessel.

Having sustained heavy damage including the loss of the port nacelle and large amounts of warp plasma and coolant, the Federation ship was in no position to resist the _Skotta_ 's approach, choosing instead to separate its chevron section in a vain attempt to outrun the Breen vessel. Thot Jek sneered as much as a Breen could at the futile actions of the cowardly Starfleet officers before ordering an assault. A polaron bolt from the Breen ship struck the chevron's life support system, venting atmosphere and bodies into the cold of space. Jek ordered all personnel to the boarding clamps in preparation for a slaving run, confident that the suffocating crew would put up no resistance to the Breen.

From the battle bridge of the stricken stardrive section, Lee watched as the Chel Grett clamped onto the chevron. He had gambled that the Breen would go after the chevron first; now it was time for the payoff.

"Let's kick some ice! Ramming speed!" he ordered.

The stardrive section of the _Lord English_ roared to life as it aimed itself at the Breen vessel. At the same time, the chevron stopped transmitting the holographic lifesigns it used to fool the Breen and started magnetizing its hull. Its movements hindered by the chevron, the _Skotta_ could not bring its weapons to bear on the rapidly approaching stardrive. With a mighty crash, the two halves of the _Lord English_ messily sandwiched the _Skotta_ , collapsing the Breen ship onto itself and sending debris from both ships everywhere. Without missing a beat, Lee put the second part of the plan into action.

"All personnel, prepare to board!"

In the span of five minutes, Thot Jek found himself turning from predator to prey, a fact that made his head spin. The Starfleet officers had sprung a daring trap, and now Starfleet away teams in EVA suits were forcing their way through the numerous breaches in the _Skotta_ 's hull and taking control of the vessel. The Breen were unable to withstand the dual shock of the crashing ships and the Starfleet assault. Jek decided to abandon his conquest of the _Lord English_ as well as his crew in the face of the advancing Starfleet force. He activated a personal transporter and beamed off his ship just as the first away teams breached the bridge.

* * *

Lee was pleased as accounts of the mission's successes poured in from the away teams. Aranea hailed the _Lord English_ from the bridge of the Breen ship.

"Teams 1 and 2 have secured the bridge, and the other teams are still in contact. Initial reports peg our losses at seven crewmembers, which are much lighter than expected. The Breen have fought to the last man, but the Thot in command is nowhere to be found."

This last bit of information concerned Lee. Only the most ruthless and unscrupulous Breen spacers could ascend to Thot status, and a Thot backed into a corner would not hesitate to commit acts of barbarism if it offered an advantage. Before Lee could order his crew to keep a lookout for the Thot, Cargo Bay 2 began hailing the bridge.

"Lieutenant Lennox to bridge! We have a situation here!"

Her voice was quickly drowned out by pistol fire, angry cries and electronic noise. Lee went to the bridge weapons locker and took out a phaser rifle.

"Attention all hands!" he proclaimed on the comm system. "We have an intruder onboard! All available security personnel to Cargo Bay 2!"

Thot Jek sized up the situation he was in. His blind transporter jump placed him in one of the Starfleet vessel's storage rooms where the Starfleet officers had set up a medical ward. He took as a hostage a Deferi that tried to attack him; unwilling to see the Deferi harmed, the Starfleet officers meekly relinquished their weapons and allowed Jek to free the Breen prisoner. Before Jek could leave, however, a Starfleet admiral and two security teams arrived with phasers trained on his head. Jek pointed his polaron pistol at the Deferi's temple.

"Breen captain!" the admiral ordered. "We have taken control of your ship, so you have nowhere to go. Surrender peaceably and release your hostages."

Jek was not going to let some Starfleet stooge order him around. He fired into the ceiling before pressing the pistol barrel in the Deferi's flesh, at the same time demanding a shuttle.

"All our shuttles were destroyed." the admiral replied. "You have nowhere to run anyways. Don't make the mistake your crew made and die needlessly. We will treat you as according to Federation regulations concerning prisoners."

The last thing Jek wanted was to be a prisoner. He had come this far looking for plunder and he was not going to leave empty-handed. He fired at the young security ensign, hitting him in the leg, before repeating his demand for transport away from the area.

"Breen captain! Do not mistake our negotiations as a lack of resolve! Any more hostile actions on your part and we will be forced to storm your position! This is your last chance to avoid bloodshed!"

Jek smirked to himself; the Breen as a species lacked blood, so any blood that was shed would come from the Starfleet peons. He emphasized his little inside joke by strangling the Deferi hostage and leveling his pistol at Lieutenant Lennox. A shot rang out. Clutching at the wound with both hands in a mixture of pained distress and surprise, Thot Jek fell to the floor.

In his hubris, Jek neglected the cardinal rule of his species: "NEVER turn your back on a Breen". Before his vision faded, Jek saw the Breen prisoner he freed throw away a phaser rifle and ask for asylum.

* * *

 **Captain's Log, supplemental. We have been able to cannibalize enough parts from the Breen warship to fashion a long-range subspace relay with which we were able to contact Deep Space 9 and ask for rescue. The _Lord English_ will require extensive repairs at the Bajor shipyards and will be inoperative for at least thirty days while replacement parts are shipped in from Utopia Planitia. On the plus side, we have brought back the Deferi captain and a Breen defector, which will no doubt help Starfleet in building a more thorough intelligence report on the Breen. In the meantime, I've ordered the crew to get some much needed R &R while Starfleet processes my temporary ship requisition forms.**


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	36. LC36: ONE

Literary Challenge #36: The Haunting of Deck 13

 **LC36: ONE**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 86787.54. The _Lord English_ is currently exploring nebulae in the Hromi Cluster. The only incident of note is an impact with unidentified debris passing through a cerulean nebula. As our shields were off-line at the time due to nebulaic interference, we are en route to Starbase 157 for examinations and potential repairs.**

* * *

Admiral Remus Lee stared at the container of metreon gas hanging on his ready room wall as Security Ensign Lutz waited at the door.

"It's open!" he cried, leveling his tetryon pistol at the container as Lutz walked in.

"Admiral!" Lutz shouted, struggling to maintain his composure as the tetryon bolts hit the wall around the container. "Commander Serket has completed the security report and would like you to review it as soon as you can."

Lee holstered his weapon as he took the PADD from Lutz. It was unusual for Aranea to send a subordinate to deliver the security report, as she relished personally handing the security report to him with a dash of Orion pheromones just to test his faculties. Lee began perusing the report.

"Armory informs that photon grenade supplies are replenished, assault squad shuttles report condition green... what's this?" Lee pondered as he glanced at a section titled **Mysterious events on Deck 13**. Lutz began squirming uncomfortably as Lee read the section allowed.

 _At 0000J today, a Crewman Mar of Deck 13 reported a failure of the sonic shower. Since then, other malfunctions have been plaguing the occupants of Deck 13. These systems failures have ranged from simple waste extraction failures and replicator mix-ups to electroplasma shock and loss of gravity. Personnel on Deck 13 have also sighted various unidentified persons wandering the corridors. At 0800J, Deck 13 lost atmospheric controls; on my authority as security chief, I have sealed the deck and am assembling a security team to investigate the nature of these mishaps._

 _Commander Aranea Serket, Security Chief, USS Lord English_.

Lee frowned as he checked his watch. 0800J was four hours ago; Aranea's absence most likely meant that her mission failed.

"Ensign Lutz, do you know where the security chief is, and why it took four hours for this to come to my attention?" Lee queried.

Lutz blanched visibly.

"Commander Serket went with several security officers into Deck 13, but the team became MIA. Their lifesigns are still active, but we're unable to transport them out. Commanders Taylor and Nethri are at Turbolift A-1 on Deck 12 to salvage the situation," Lutz replied.

Upon hearing this, Lee took out his Environmental Suit from the locker and strode out his ready room. Lutz began panicking as he tapped his combadge.

"Commander Taylor! The admiral's heading your way!" he shouted, before hurrying out himself.

* * *

Commander Kay Taylor braced herself as Admiral Lee exited the turbolift onto Deck 12 in full environmental gear.

"Admiral," she lectured, blocking Lee as he tried to wriggle his way past her. "Starfleet regulations prohibit the commanding officer of a starship to enter a potentially hazardous situation."

"Starfleet regulations also require the commanding officer of a starship to be responsible for the well-being of his or her crew, now let me through, Kay," Lee retorted, vainly attempting to evade his first officer while wearing a bulky EV suit.

Taylor began to glower as Lee kept trying to squirm past her.

"This is why Drevis and I didn't inform you immediately about this situation. We knew that you would pull a Kirk and attempt to rescue the security personnel alone. This is an unacceptable risk for an admiral to be taking."

Commander Drevis Nethri stepped in between the two quarrelers to defuse the situation.

"Now, admiral, Kay and I were only concerned about what would happen to you if you went into an unknown situation. We still don't know what's going on down in Deck 13. We've been able to rescue part of the security team, but life support and gravity controls are down. Aranea and Ensign Socci are still unaccounted for, and Lieutenant Velmer fell out of contact with us trying to reach them."

Taylor nodded contemplatively.

"The only clue we have as to what's occurring down there," she said as she held up a PADD, "is that every display, PADD, and console has the word **ONE** on it, and we can't clear the consoles to check their information."

Lee nodded contemplatively in turn as he inched towards the Jeffries Tube.

"Could this be an assault by the Borg or the Tholians?" Lee inquired.

"There hasn't been any sign of unusual Borg tech on Deck 13 or elsewhere on the ship. The security team noticed various unidentified personnel walking throughout the deck, but- Hey!" Taylor cried, as Lee slipped down the Jefferies Tube into the murk of Deck 13.

* * *

Lee slowly propelled himself down Deck 13 as Drevis guided him via combadge. Just as Commander Taylor said, every console on Deck 13 read **ONE**. Smoke billowing out from various devices made visibility close to zero.

"Drevis, can you give me a general location for Aranea, Velmer, and Socci?" Lee asked.

"They're all in closed rooms throughout Deck 13, admiral," Drevis replied. "Something down there is keeping them incapacitated. Lieutenant Velmer is a few meters in front of you, in crew quarters M-113."

"Roger that, Drevis. Lee out."

Lee made his way to M-113, forcing the doors open with a piece of paneling. Inside, he found Lieutenant Velmer being interrogated by an Andorian Imperial Guardsman.

"Where do you come from? Do you spy for the Vulcans? We'll see what secrets we'll pry from you before we turn you against the pointed-ears!"

As the guardsman repeated his inquiry, he noticed Lee, shouting the same to him before rushing at him, unhindered by the lack of gravity. Piece of paneling in hand, Lee shoved it into the Andorian's chest before using his thrusters to launch himself into the Andorian. Upon contact with the wall, the Andorian vanished. Lee recovered quickly from the impact, but was still dazed at the Andorian's disappearance.

"Drevis, Kay, did sensors pick up an Andorian intruder?"

"Negative, admiral, we haven't picked up any signs of Andorians, although to be honest, we can't pick anything up except for you and the other EV suits. There's too much background radiation to do anything except keep tabs on them."

"Curiouser and curiouser," Lee pondered, as he reconnected Velmer's air supply and injected her with tri-ox compound. She quickly came around, surprised at Lee's presence.

"Admiral! You shouldn't be down here! This is a dangerous place!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, I know, Commander Taylor told me all about the dangers of Deck 13. Can you walk?"

"That Andorian cut my leg with an ushaan before dragging me in here. My suit sealed automatically, but I don't think I can walk."

Lee tied a length of coil around Velmer's waist before drawing his compression pistol.

"Kay, inform the transporter room that I'm going to send Lt. Velmer out the window. Keep scanning for her lifesigns outside Deck 13, room M-113."

As soon as he finished, Lee fired four bolts into the window, shattering it and exposing the crew quarters to empty space. Lee slowly unwound Velmer out the window before she was transported to Sickbay. Lee made his way out M-113, shutting the door behind him. As he turned around, a Vulcan science minister greeted him.

"You seem to have had quite the journey. I hope that your experience with the Andorians have not soured your quest for knowledge. Live long and prosper, and may you find your way home," the minister said, before walking down the corridor.

"Hey! Tell me what's going on!" Lee yelled, but the Vulcan minister went on his way, vanishing into the smoke.

"This is some karked stuff down here, Kay. Are you sure you're not picking anything else up?" asked Lee.

"Negative, admiral, just your lifesigns, a lot of EM radiation, and a slow power drain."

* * *

 _What could this mean?_ Lee thought to himself as he boosted down the corridor. _These mystery people have got to be involved in these events. In any case once Aranea and Ens. Socci are rescued I'll evacuate the chevron and tow it to Starbase 157 with the stardrive section._

Lee's inner thoughts were rudely interrupted by a Ferengi marauder dragging the limp body of Ensign Socci down the corridor. Unfurling his energy whip, the marauder flung several bolts of electricity in Lee's direction as he ran in the other direction, shouting "I can't make a profit with space trash! There's nothing of value here! Just useless junk!" Surging forward through the flurry of bolts, Lee reached Socci but lost sight of the Ferengi.

"Kay, Drevis, I've found Ensign Socci. He seems to be alive, but just barely. I don't think I can drag him to a Jeffries tube in time to save him."

"Admiral, if you can take Socci to turbolift E-1, we can be in place to catch him on deck 14."

"Copy that."

As Lee brought Socci to the turbolift shaft, Socci began drifting back into consciousness.

"Mao, Tojo, watch out for that Klingon... they're taking Commander Serket to Observation Room 13... What is that, some sort of space squid..."

As Socci began fading into unconsciousness, Lee unceremoniously tipped him into the turboshaft before continuing down the hallway. Lee contacted Commander Taylor again.

"Kay, can you give me any information about Observation Room 13?"

"Other than that Aranea's there, no. However, it is the closest room to where that unidentified space debris hit our ship, if there's any connection."

"Thanks, Kay. Lee out."

* * *

As Lee reached Observation Room 13, he was confronted by a flying squid-like entity, which screeched at him. Fed up with the shenanigans of mysterious beings, Lee lobbed a photon grenade in its direction. The squid creature escaped into Observation Room 13, with the photon grenade exploding impotently against the sealed bulkhead door. Swearing softly to himself, Lee attempted to open the door manually. As he prepared to place the emergency hand actuators, a Pakled captain stepped though the closed doors and greeted him.

"Do you need help?" said the Pakled.

"I am trying to find a friend, I think she is behind this door," Lee replied, his sense of incredulity having run dry.

"You are tiny," said the Pakled. "Can you still go?"

As the Pakled captain spoke, he pulled the door open unassisted. Lee became baffled as the Pakled reentered the room. Inside the observation room were aliens of all kinds, surrounding a sizable piece of debris embedded in a desk computer. Throughout the room, the word **ONE** flashed on all displays. Lee regained his composure as he saw his missing security chief restrained on the desk.

"Attention! This is Admiral Remus Lee of the USS _Lord English_! You are holding one of my crew hostage! Release my crew and vacate the premises or swift action will be taken!" Lee blustered.

In response, a Klingon warrior jumped down from the mezzanine. Pointing menacingly at Lee, the Klingon began elaborately waving a D'k tahg.

"Shooting space garbage is no test of a warrior's mettle! I need a target that fires back!" he shouted as he rushed Lee.

Having exhausted his patience long ago, Lee obliged the Klingon by blasting him in the face with his tetryon pistol. As the Klingon fell to the floor, parts of him began shimmering before fading out of existence. The other aliens began surrounding Lee and Commander Serket. As Lee contemplated his situation, a glint of light caught his eye. Lee's gaze fell on the debris embedded in the computer, a golden plate fused with a rudimentary processor.

In a fit of pique, Lee yanked the plate out of the computer. As the electrical charges faded from the plate, the aliens in the observation room slowly faded into oblivion. At the same time, power and life support returned to Deck 13. Commander Taylor hailed Lee over ship communications.

"Admiral, what happened? Power to Deck 13 just came back on. All the PADDs that had **ONE** on them are back to normal! Did you find Aranea?"

Lee responded in the affirmative.

"I ran into a little trouble in the observation room, but I think I discovered the source of the problem. Get Aranea to sickbay ASAP, and then send a few security teams down here to help clean up."

As Commander Serket was beamed off of the observation room desk, Lee sat down on one of the few remaining chairs in the room. Staring at the golden plate in his hand, he flipped it over to the processor side. Written at the top was the word **ONE**. Smirking a little, Lee wiped off the centuries of melted circuitry and space dust on the plate, revealing the words **PIONEER 10**.

* * *

 **Captain's Log, supplemental. The mystery of Deck 13 has been solved, and with it the mystery of the fate of one of Earth's first interstellar vessels. In the years since its disappearance, Pioneer 10 had led an interesting life, making first contact with many alien species long before humanity discovered it was not alone. The sum of Pioneer 10's experiences manifested itself into the ship's photonic database, causing much (probably) unintended havoc with the ship systems on Deck 13. Commander Serket and the rest of the security team are expected to make a full recovery. A full report will be made to Admiral Quinn as soon as possible.**


	37. LC37: REDACTED

**REDACTED**


	38. LC38: REDACTED

**REDACTED**


	39. LC39: Drone Alone

Literary Challenge #39: Lone Drone

 **LC39:** **Drone Alone**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 86893.33. The _Lord English_ is currently exploring a rogue planetoid straddling the border between Gamma Orionis and unexplored space on the suggestion of Admiral M'Sarabi of the USS _Pride Rock_. Long range sensors detected a foundering Borg probe in its orbit. As _Pride Rock_ 's sickbays are already overworked reclaiming Borg drones, _Lord English_ will help pick up the slack, and perhaps net some Borg salvage.**

* * *

In the far reaches of space, the faint green glow of a derelict Borg probe illuminated for the first time in millennia a jet black planetoid making its way through the galaxy. The probe's light was soon joined by a brighter beam, as USS _Lord English_ shone its bow floodlight on the probe. On the bridge of _Lord English_ , Admiral Remus Lee consulted his chief medical officer and former Borg drone, Four of Thirteen.

"Four, what should we be expecting today in terms of resistance?" Lee asked.

Four consulted his wrist imager, a leftover from his days as a drone.

"Borg probe, interceptor variant. Structural integrity at 47%. Borg activity at or near 0%. Life signs indicate one possible survivor, but data is inconclusive at current range. Recommend an away team for closer examination," he replied.

"Admiral," First Officer Kay Taylor interjected. "The Borg probe is in a perilous state. Any away team that goes onto the probe must be kept small, and I cannot recommend that you be on that away team."

"Well, since you won't let me go on a clearly dangerous away mission, who do you think we should send?" Lee inquired.

* * *

Commander Sabrina Honda would rather not have to remember her time as a Borg drone, yet here she was, exploring a derelict Borg probe with the chief medical officer of the _Lord English_. It didn't help that Four of Thirteen kept calling her by her Borg designation, Ten of Twenty-Five, nor did it help that he still possessed most of the Borg exoskeleton the Borg assimilated into him. The worst thing about the whole ordeal, though, was that Four of Thirteen was her estranged grandfather, lost at the battle of Wolf 359 without ever seeing the birth of his son. She never could shake off her fear of the Borg, a liability which led to her assimilation at Vega IX. She was lucky to have escaped the Collective with the help of the Borg counter-agent, even if it did cost her her human legs. Now here she was, working with a liberated drone that spent twice as long in the Collective as she spent living.

"Structural integrity of the probe is dropping at a rate of 1% per minute. This probe will be uninhabitable within the half hour," she told Four.

"Ten of Twenty-Five, at the signal, access node 2 of 4 to shunt power from the interplexing beacon to the structural integrity field," Four replied.

As Sabrina and Four began transferring power from the probe's damaged systems, Sabrina wondered how life would have been different had Commander Edmund T. Honda, chief science officer under Admiral J.P. Hanson, stayed by his wife's side in Nagoya instead of meeting his fate at Wolf 359. Having spent forty years of his life as a drone, Four of Thirteen was now completely dependent on his Borg implants, and Sabrina was always afraid that at some point he would revert under Collective control and start assimilating people again.

"Approaching assimilation chamber. Lifesign erratic, species cannot be determined. Ten of Twenty-Five, be ready to provide fire support," Four orders.

"At the ready, commander," Sabrina replied as she drew her weapon. At times like these, she acknowledged that her time in the Collective reinforced her physical and mental constitution. She would no longer cower as she did that fateful day on Vega IX.

As Four brought down the bulkhead to the assimilation chamber, Sabrina leveled her weapon, ready to blast hostiles with a decisive plasma bolt. The assimilation chamber was littered with drone body parts, inert Borg technology, and fading consoles. In the middle, a scintillating puddle of Borg nanoprobes pooled at the bottom of a restraining table. Sabrina checked her tricorder in astonishment; the puddle was the source of the erratic lifesign.

"Commander, what do you make of this? This mass of nanoprobes is the lifesign that we've picked up on sensors," Sabrina exclaimed as she waved her tricorder over the mess of nanoprobes.

"Unknown lifeform or Borg technology emitting lifesigns," Four responded matter-of-factly. "Further investigation is necessary."

"How do we bring it back to the _Lord English_? The transporters aren't able to get a lock on... whatever that is," Sabrina reminded Four.

In response, Four wrenched the bottom third of the restraining table off its mount. Sabrina rolled her eyes; her grandfather's legendary indelicacy apparently survived his assimilation. Four contacted the transporter room.

"Chief Moore, arrange for transport of personnel Four of Thirteen with unidentified lifeform and Ten of Twenty-Five to sickbay."

"Aye, commander," Moore replied. "Beaming you back now."

The two drones materialized on the transporter pad in sickbay. The table piece Four was carrying was empty; the nanoprobe puddle was nowhere to be seen.

"Chief, we're missing the lifeform we picked up off of the probe," Sabrina hailed. "Can you check the transport logs?"

"Two personnel and an unidentified lifeform were beamed off the probe," Moore replied. "It looks like the lifeform didn't survive the transport process. I'll check the transport buffer to see if it's there, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. It was a weak signal to begin with, even with Doc there to boost it."

Sabrina felt disappointed at the outcome of the mission. Four felt nothing, as his emotions were lost during his years in the Collective. Four contacted the bridge.

"Four of Thirteen to Admiral Lee. Mission to retrieve unidentified lifeform has failed. Borg probe is no longer of strategic value to the ship. Recommend destruction to prevent recovery by enemy forces."

"Welcome back, Doc," Lee replied over the comm channel. "It's a shame the mission wasn't more productive. Let's frag this hulk and call it a night. Get some rest, you two. It's back to pirate hunting tomorrow."

Lee closed the channel. Sabrina cheered up a little, as she could discern from Admiral Lee's tone that he was relieved that there were no casualties on the mission.

"Looks like our job's done, commander. Good night, grandfather, I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she exited the sickbay.

After putting the table piece on a counter, Four entered his regeneration alcove and began his regeneration cycle.

* * *

As the swing shift ended, the night shift started. Commander Newa, the Caitian chief technician, entered the bridge and took command. Commander Twimek, the Reman biochemist, entered the sickbay. Bowing ceremonially to Four of Thirteen, who was still in regeneration, he set about treating the first injury of the day, a crewman Griswold suffering from necrotizing fasciitis. None of the commanders noticed the expanding stain flowing from the ceiling of sickbay...

* * *

As Admiral Lee awoke the next morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic vermin.

Struggling to move his body off his back, he was acutely aware that he was unable to breath. As consciousness began to fade from his flailing body, Sabrina entered his quarters, searching for him. Recognizing the dire situation immediately, Sabrina grabbed the two-meter vermin from the bed and tossed him into the tub, at the same time filling it with water. Life returned to Admiral Lee as he extracted oxygen from the water with his new gills. Having saved Admiral Lee, Sabrina quickly darted off to check on the other crew members.

When she awoke, Commander Sabrina Honda found herself in the middle of a zoo, as overnight, the crew of the _Lord English_ had been transformed into animals. Sabrina discounted Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome almost immediately, as her Borg implants failed to detect any viral contaminants. Sabrina left her room to make it to the bridge.

"Mrrrooooowwwwllll~"

When Sabrina turned the corner as she made her way to the bridge, a blue-haired cat rolled out of First Officer Taylor's room, struggling with what appeared to be myriads of tiny mites. As Sabrina knelt down to assist the cat, the mites jumped from the cat and onto her hand. These were not mites, she realized, but Borg nanoprobes, enlarged to macroscopic sizes and trying to assimilate her hand. She quickly smashed her hand into a wall console, electrocuting the giant nanoprobes. As a token of thanks, the blue-haired cat rubbed up against Sabrina's leg.

"I'm sorry to pull rank, Commander Taylor, but I need you to stay in your room," Sabrina said, as she carried the cat into the room. The cat purred as Sabrina replicated Feline Supplement 47 for her before leaving.

The bridge was a sorry sight, Sabrina thought. The night shift bridge crew had to a person transformed into animals. Commander Newa, transformed into a Caitian pocket mouse, was busy chewing on isomagnetic conduits as the rest of the bridge crew roamed the bridge, smashing a panel here, tearing up a console there. The most unnerving thing to Sabrina, though, was what was displayed on the viewscreen. At some point, somebody had set the _Lord English_ on a course deep into Borg space. With the Borg-enhanced engines of the _Lord English_ , the ship and its crew would be among the Borg in 15 hours.

"This must have something to do with that Borg goo we picked up," Sabrina thought to herself. "There is only one other person who could help me."

* * *

A cow suffering from necrotizing fasciitis stampeded out the sickbay as Sabrina made her way down the damaged corridor. The entire medical wing of the _Lord English_ was now covered in a shimmering layer of giant Borg nanoprobes, much like a layer of water. The sickbay itself was crawling with nanoprobes, pouring out from the ceiling and cascading onto the floor. A Reman dwarf bat lay on a piece of restraining table floating among the nanoprobes. Sabrina picked up the fitfully sleeping dwarf bat and put it in her pocket before slogging towards Four of Thirteen's regeneration alcove. The former Borg drone was still regenerating, oblivious to the chaos erupting aboard the ship. A quick yank of the power cord by Sabrina brought him out of his regeneration cycle, and the drone raised a gimlet eye at Sabrina.

"Ten of Twenty-Five, the power supply to Borg Alcove 4 of 13 has been disabled. Discover the source of the power lost and rectify immediately," he said.

"Grandfather, I believe we have a greater problem than the loss of power to your alcove," she replied, almost in disbelief.

Four of Thirteen surveyed the infested nanoprobe bog that was once his sickbay.

"Borg nanotechnology has replicated to visible sizes, and is about to take over the ship. Inform the admiral at once, Ten of Twenty-Five," Four ordered.

"Admiral Lee has been turned into a giant sea scorpion, and the rest of the crew is in the same state. Look at Commander Twimek," Sabrina hissed, as she pulled the dwarf bat out of her pocket. "We are the only two people on this ship left unchanged, and I have a suspicion that it has something to do with the Borg technology we brought back from that probe."

Sabrina put the bat back into her pocket as she confronted Four of Thirteen again.

"We are currently traveling towards Borg space," she said as her emotions started to boil over. "I don't know about you, grandfather, but I don't want to be a Borg drone again, so, please, help me find a way to save our ship and our friends!"

Four of Thirteen stood there as Sabrina struggled to keep herself from hitting him. Two tears rolled down her left cheek as she stared at her grandfather with pleading eyes. Finally, Four responded.

"Ten of Twenty-Five, sadness will not bring the ship back under friendly control. Please reconnect the regeneration alcove to the EPS system."

Something in his tone of voice convinced Sabrina that everything was going to be alright. As she reconnected the alcove, Four stuck assimilation tubules into the alcove's nodes. Within seconds, nanoprobes began flowing from Four into the ship's EPS conduits. As the ship's consoles began flashing with Borg script, the giant nanoprobes began convulsing and retreating back into the sickbay. Soon, the ship was clear of giant nanoprobes, and Sabrina felt it coming out of warp. As the last of the nanoprobes crumbled to dust, a small, shimmering brown puddle remained on the sickbay floor. Sabrina quickly sucked it up with a pipette and transferred it to a beaker. The brown puddle began settling, as if finally relaxed.

"The _Lord English_ is no longer travelling towards Borg space," Four said as he removed his assimilation tubules. "Recommend transwarping back to Deep Space 9 to undergo EPS conduit cleaning and to revert ship personnel," he added, falling over.

"Grandfather!" Sabrina cried as she rushed over.

"The ship is out of danger," Four stated as he faded out of consciousness. "Recommend regeneration."

* * *

 **Personal Log, Sabrina Honda, supplemental. _Lord English_ is back at DS9. Engineering crews are scrubbing the EPS conduits while medical crews are slowly bringing the ship's personnel back from their transmogrification. Apparently, the Borg had stumbled upon a Founder and had attempted to assimilate it, with the result being a nanoprobe which injected Founder DNA into its victims, changing their genetic make-up. Ship and station transporters are currently working overtime to remove the traces of Founder DNA from the ship's crew, but they will not be done for 12 hours. In the meantime, Commander Four of Thirteen is peacefully regenerating in his alcove. I will also take a well-deserved break.**

* * *

Commander Sabrina Honda curled up in her chair with a bowl of Feline Supplement 47. A blue-haired cat jumped into her lap and started eating from the bowl as she started petting its ears.


	40. LC40: AUDACIA REFUGIUM

Literary Challenge #40: Redux

 **LC40: AUDACIA REFUGIUM**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 86928.01. Starfleet Command has commissioned a new line of Andorian-designed corvettes as part of expanded Starfleet deep space operations against enemy commerce raiders. I have chosen a select portion of the Lord English crew to join me one of these escorts, named IGS _Doc Scratch_ , to combat True Way insurgents in the Zeta Andromedae Sector Block. Commander Taylor will be in command of _Lord English_ in my absence.**

* * *

The Keldon warship _Gloril_ and its four Galor companions hung dead in space, the glow from their burning husks fading as an Andorian escort's warp trail faded into the distance. On board the IGS _Doc Scratch_ , Commander Newa, the Caitian chief technician, relaxed in the captain's chair as the bridge crew continued running telemetry from their latest deep space encounter. The night shift was almost over, and Newa was eager to turn the _Doc Scratch_ 's command over to her capricious CO, Admiral Remus Lee.

As she entered the ready room to call Admiral Lee, she was shocked to see him already awake at his desk. busy wiping down a Mk. IV Phaser Split Beam Rifle. She could see the words "AUDACIA REFUGIUM" engraved on the side of the rifle, and a giant crack running down the middle, bisecting the gun.

"Admiral, you're up early today," Newa commented. "You usually don't report in until two hours from now."

"I noticed these Andorian vessels aren't keen on displaying trophies, which is a shame, because I thought of putting up some thematically appropriate trophies in the captain's room," he replied.

Newa looked around on the floor. Cardassian military insignia and Jem'Hadar ketracel-white tubes lay all over the floor. Admiral Lee was certainly not one of the tidiest captains in Starfleet, she discommended.

"I see True Way Alliance paraphernalia all over the floor, Admiral, so what does a Mk. IV phaser rifle have to do with the True Way?" Newa asked.

"Oh, this?" Lee stated as he gestured towards the rifle. "I found it while clearing out all the True Way junk from my bank storage. It's a relic from the time when I had two and a half pips."

"Two and a half pips? You mean Lieutenant Commander?" Newa questioned. She found Lee's muddled speech annoying, but wanted to know more about Lee's past.

"Yes, exactly. This came from Commander Taylor's predecessor. There's a long story attached to this, if you want to listen."

"Shouldn't you be clocking in, Admiral?" Newa replied.

* * *

 _Portrait of a young man: Lieutenant Commander Remus Lee, twenty-five, ship captain, time traveler. Mr. Lee has been tasked by a shadowy organization to go back in time to kill an enemy leader. The fate of the Federation, nay, the entire quadrant, rests on his shoulders; with time travel, success and failure can hinge on a single misstep which can change history as we know it. It's just another "day" in **The Neutral Zone**._

* * *

"I don't know what these things are, but they're all over the station! They're killing people! Please, you have to help us!"

The crew of the Excalibur-class USS _Eridan Ampora_ marveled. The run-down Drozana station which they were familiar with was replaced by a shiny K-7 style station painted in 23rd century glossy white, the same color as the Constitution-class vessel which they unceremoniously left adrift. Ensign Kay Taylor was the first to regain her composure.

"Commander, sensors detect multiple triolic rifts on Drozana Station and signs of weapons fire in the interior. We'll need to seal the rifts directly to prevent more Devidian incursions before we can start destroying Driffen's Comet."

Chief Engineer Shrad Ildytov chimed in from the Transporter Room.

"Triolic waves are saturating the station. If we don't stop the source of the waves, the entire station is going to glow blue. I've locked onto a cargo bay which is still relatively free of radiation, but we're going to need to go ASAP or else we won't be able to get on."

Lieutenant Commander Remus Lee stood up from his chair and took a heroic pose as he hailed the crew.

"Attention all hands, as you may have seen, we are now in the past due to *mumble mumble* in order to destroy Driffen's Comet and prevent an invasion of the Federation. The nature of time travel means that we must do as little as we can to affect the past while we're changing the past, but I'm confident that this crew will perform admirably. Lieutenant Eloni, Chief Ildytov, Dr. Lulare, please meet me in Transporter Room 1."

"That was a very inspiring speech, Commander," replied Lieutenant Jhamyn Eloni, _Ampora_ 's Andorian first officer, as she slipped out from behind him.

"You were there?" Lee exclaimed.

"Yes, always," Eloni replied.

"Are you ready to go down to Drozana, then?" Lee asked.

"Yes, always," Eloni replied, as she pulled her phaser split beam rifle from her back.

The two officers entered the turbolift together en route to the transporter room.

* * *

The groans of the wounded punctuated the atmosphere at the Drozana bar, as the Devidian assault force dissolved away in the face of the _Ampora_ 's strike force. Dr. Coroin Lulare began examining the wounded as Master Chief Petty Officer Shrad Ildytov set up medical generators. First Officer Eloni began an analysis of the situation.

"Most of the triolic energy is concentrated in what would be the dabo room in our time; energy readings there are through the roof, which may mean the focus point of the Devidian invasion is there."

"There are non-Devidian lifesigns in the room," Dr. Lulare butted in, "If we don't rescue them soon, they'll succumb to triolic poisoning, and that would be bad for the timeline."

"The door is barricaded, but a few hits with a phaser should take care of that," the barkeep added.

The strike team began converging on the door. Lee began moving forward to place breaching charges but was stopped by Eloni.

"I think we'll need to break the door in order to enter," Lee said to Eloni as he tried to brush her off.

"Starfleet regulations require the first officer to enter potentially dangerous situations. As I am first officer, that task falls to me," she replied, pulling Lee back.

"I'll be asking you for a first officer to shove in front when I get to your rank, commander," she added, as she placed the charges.

Before she could set off the charges, however, a bright white spike stabbed out from the door and into Eloni. As her neural energy began draining from her body, the door charges blew, and out from the lounge floated a large, menacing figure wielding an Ophidian cane dripping blue. This was the Shrouded Phantasm, leader of the Devidian incursion.

"Do not attempt to stop us! We hunger. We must feed!" it cried, as Devidians flooded out of the room to drain everyone's neural energy.

Separated from the rest of the station by the Devidian surge, Lee was left aside the corpse of Lieutenant Eloni, as the Shrouded Phantasm approached menacingly. With his Anti-Devidian rifle on the far end of the corridor, his only weapon left was Eloni's phaser rifle, shorn in half by the Devidian's stabbing.

Fully expecting a death by neural drainage, Lee was spared when, rather than draining his energy with his Ophidian, the phantasm closed in to grab him. This gave him the split second he needed to take Eloni's weapon and send a pulse straight down the phantasm's gullet, causing a shockwave in its body which rippled out, knocking the other Devidians out of the timeline. The phantasm, the enemy of Drozana Station and Eta Eridani, was defeated.

As the Devidians phased into oblivion, Dr. Lulare rushed over to Lieutenant Commander Lee. The backfire of the broken rifle had burned his hand.

"Don't mind me, is Lieutenant Eloni ok?" he asked as he shrugged her off.

Dr. Lulare sadly shook her head.

"The physical injuries were life-threatening enough, but the neural damage wouldn't have been repairable even with 25th century technology. She's gone, sir."

Lee brokered no emotion as he stared the engraved words "AUDACIA REFUGIUM" on the phaser rifle in his now mangled hand.

"Refuge in audacity, eh?" he said to himself, as Dr. Lulare worked on healing his hand.

* * *

As Admiral Lee finished his story, Commander Newa found herself tearing up despite herself. She realized that it was already noon and Admiral Lee still didn't clock in. Still, she found herself engrossed with the story.

"What happened afterwards, with the crew of the _Ampora_ and the Devidians?" she asked.

"That's a good question," Lee answered as he put down the rifle.

"Chief Ildytov eventually became a vice admiral himself. He's now captaining USS _Problem Sleuth_ on the Klingon Front.

"As for Dr. Lulare, I'm sorry to say the pressures of her job got to her and she ended up defecting to the Klingon Empire only to fall in trouble and die at the hands of the Orion Syndicate on New Sydney."

"The Devidians haven't been active since Driffen's Comet was destroyed; I think there might be one Devidian being a Starfleet officer or something, but I heard he's an alright guy. Goes by the name of Strannik, I think."

Newa sat there in awe at the Admiral's story, until a chime from the comm channel broke her out of her reverie. It was the voice of Commander Kay Taylor, Lee's first officer in command of the _Lord English_.

"Admiral, you haven't responded in over four hours. We're at your position waiting to transfer crew and supplies to you."

"Understood, Kay," he replied.

"Let's get to business, then. You are now cleared of your duty, Commander Newa," he added, as he adjusted his collar and walked to the bridge.

* * *

 **Captain's log, supplemental. The _Doc Scratch_ will be rendezvousing with the _Lord English_ to exchange crew and supplies. While _Doc Scratch_ will still be hunting True Way raiders, _Lord English_ will be aiding planets in the Zenas Expanse. Commander Taylor continues to serve as a model officer and stellar commander. If fate is kind, she will serve in this capacity for a long time.**


	41. LC41: Necrohol

Literary Challenge #41: Call to Arms

 **LC41: Necrohol**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 86998.99. The _Lord English_ is responding to a distress call near one of the more neglected corners of Federation space. The last known visitor to the region was USS _Enterprise_ -D, responding to the destruction of Delta Rana IV in 2366. Now _Lord English_ is delving into the region of space locals call "The Husnock Necrohol" after its vanished residents.**

* * *

"How much information do we have on the situation?"

The senior crew of the _Lord English_ sat around the observation lounge table as Chief Engineer T'Shaanat brought up a presentation on the main viewer.

"The signal is coming from here," she said as she pointed to a spot between the Tholian Assembly and Sheliak Corporate, "far from any star system, although there is a high concentration of trianium particles in the area, indicating heavy use of fusion reactors. It is close to Tholian space, and a Tholian vessel is approaching it at maximum warp, although it's still a few days away."

T'Shaanat then highlighted a large swatch of unclaimed space around the area where she pointed.

"The area where the signal is located is known as the "Husnock Necrohol" by various sparefaring parties. According to data gleaned from Tholian and Sheliak databases, the Husnock were a savage species known for ultraviolence, having conducted destructive raids on the border colonies of both factions for millennia until their sudden disappearance in 2366. Neither the Tholians nor the Sheliak seem eager to move into the territory, and there are rumors that the entire region is haunted by the vanished Husnock."

Chief of Operations Kovat Vystan brought up a video of an elderly human female scientist amidst a backdrop of explosions and weapons fire. Although she seemed to be speaking, no audio could be heard.

"Systems engineers have cleaned up the distress call as much as they could, but the audio portion of the call seems to be lost," he explained as he zoomed in on the face of the female scientist. "Facial recognition identifies the message sender as Dr. Kila Marr, a xenologist whose last known project was researching a crystalline entity with the _Enterprise_ -D in 2368. After the mission's failure, she was unable to find work in the Federation; she dropped off of the map during the Dominion War."

Kovat then brought up a classified Starfleet Intelligence file on Dr. Marr, listing her skill sets and activities.

"Judging from the limited data on Dr. Marr's activities within the past fifty years, Starfleet Intelligence believes she's using the research she gathered on the crystalline entity to create graviton-based weapons powerful enough to shatter hulls. SI wants us to secure Dr. Marr as soon as we can. The primary concern is the Tholians; Marr's research could prove highly effective against Tholian warships, and SI believes the Tholians know this too. The Tholians must not get their hands on Dr. Marr's research, or else it will give the Tholians an insurmountable advantage."

At the end of the presentation, Commander Kay Taylor summed up the situation.

"Whatever Dr. Marr's transgressions are, we as Starfleet officers are tasked with rescuing those in need, no matter what the situation calls for, not to mention the risks to the Federation if Dr. Marr's research falls into enemy hands. The _Lord English_ is crewed with the most adaptable and daring crew in Starfleet, as per Admiral Lee's instructions, so even with the little information we have, Admiral Lee and I are confident that we will be able to take anything on. Report to your stations at 0900 hours and be ready for anything. Dismissed."

As the senior officers filed out, Taylor nudged Vice Admiral Lee, who had been napping in the corner.

* * *

The _Lord English_ arrived at the coordinates of the distress call. A grotesque space station shrouded in fine particles and copious amounts of radiation greeted the ship as a single shuttle angled towards the station at half-impulse. On board the shuttle, the Android systems engineer R-66Y conferred with the Tellarite assault squad officer Lieutenant Dlad and the Trill Nurse Emunai. The fuzzy picture of Chief Technician Newa began briefing the team over the comm channel.

"The heavy amounts of hyperonic radiation in the area will prevent us from beaming you off in an emergency. Most of the station is damaged, you'll have to find an airlock to dock with to enter. Lifesigns are erratic, as are power readings; the radiation leakage from the station is interfering heavily with sensors. It'll take ten minutes before any other shuttles reach the station if you're in trouble."

Further communication ceased as the shuttle entered the plume of radiation which surrounded the station. Lieutenant Dlad swore mightily as the shuttle docked with the station.

"Krognik's ass! What kind of human witch would get us sent to a forsaken station in the middle of nowhere?"

R-66Y was the first to exit the shuttle. Unfolding his tricorder, he quickly took stock of the situation.

"The atmosphere is a stable Class-M, but there are no signs of life of any sort. There's a strong probability whoever attacked the station left with the scientists."

"Phinda's tears!" Dlad replied. "We got here too late."

"Lieutenant Dlad," R-66Y replied, "although we are unable to secure Dr. Marr and her team, we may still be able to secure her research, per our orders. I think we should try to access the main computer."

The away team moved unmolested through the station, pausing only to note the occasional suspicious stain and gash on the station's corridors. There was no sign of the station's crew. Soon they entered the computer core room. Devices of Federation origin were connected to the core, so it took only seconds for R-66Y to compress the core's contents and transfer the data to his tricorder.

"Computer, please access the logs of Dr. Kila Marr in chronological order," he said as the transfer finished.

 _Log of Dr. Kila Marr. Ever since the outbreak of the Klingon-Federation War, I've had to stay one step ahead of Starfleet Intelligence agents. They must think I'm a danger to the Federation because I won't play by their rules anymore. But the true danger is still out there. I've heard through the grapevine that the Tholians have found another Crystalline Entity, and that they're plotting to breed them like some massive attack dog! The Federation may not care, but I won't have another mother lose their son like I lost Raymond._

 _I've hired a few Orions and Hirogen from a slippery Ferengi called Madran. We're heading to a region of space near the Tholian Assembly to keep watch. Sten is worried that the Orions and Hirogen will make off with our research, but that's just Vulcan pragmatism on his part. Pitting the Orions and the Hirogen against each other will buy us some time while we figure out how to turn the graviton beam into a one-hit knockout. We're taking residence on an abandoned space station that Matron Deshni says was owned by a dead race called the Husnock._

 _The Orions have been antsy. They think the dead souls of the Husnock will consume us for disturbing their slumber, and the Hirogen are getting fed up. Sten think we should-_

"Will you get on with it, you rustbucket!" Dlad exclaimed in exasperation. "We don't need to know everything about Dr. Marr!"

"Computer, please access the last entry in Dr. Kila Marr's logs," R-66Y replied in apology.

 _I wouldn't have believed it, but there's no other explanation. The Husnock are back, just like the Orions said, and they've taken possession of the Hirogen! Matron Deshni has already been ripped in half by Alpha Kinon, and the rest of them are advancing on the computer core! I've given Sten what little data we have on graviton weapons, but I don't know where he can go. The station is swarming with grotesque Hirogen with pieces of metal in their skin ripping Orions and my research team apart with their bare hands and teeth! The Federation has to know! The Husnock-_

"Husnock? What are the Husnock? And where is anyone? Did the Hirogen take them as trophies?" Nurse Emunai asked.

"I wouldn't put it against those bastards," Dlad responded, "but even if they took everyone off the station, they would have left something behind, a limb, or a bone, anything they didn't find worthy prey. The Hirogen aren't this clean. We haven't even found a corpse."

As if on cue, a powerful impacted rocked the station. The corpse of researcher Sten fell from the ceiling, shaken loose from its bonds, and landed on Nurse Emunai. Most of his skin and musculature were bitten off, and a small PADD fell from his hands clenched in rigor mortis.

"Krognik's scrotum!" Dlad exclaimed in surprise. "This pointy-ear's been eaten!"

Without missing a beat, R-66Y picked up the PADD. He quickly ascertained that it was Dr. Marr's graviton beam research.

"We have what we came for, let's get out of here," he stated, as he moved Sten's corpse off of Nurse Emunai. "I believe the station is about to collapse."

Dlad stared at a figure behind R-66Y.

"I don't think it's the station's fault. Look!"

A scarified Hirogen with metal shards sticking out his body crashed into the viewport above the computer core room. A crude device attached to his wrist began blinking rapidly. R-66Y's android brain recognized it for what it was, and uttered a short statement.

"It's a bomb."

The resulting explosion decompressed the entire room, blowing Dlad, Emunai, and R-66Y into the vacuum. Lieutenant Dlad and Nurse Emunai slowly suffocated in the vacuum of space, but there was nothing R-66Y could do about it. He noticed that the destroyed hull of a Hirogen Seeker Frigate near the station, which was quickly fading from view.

As R-66Y cleared the radiation surrounding the station, he was greeted with a peculiar sight; _Lord English_ was being attacked from all directions by an odd collection of ships in disrepair. Hirogen, Orion, and Cardassian ships were sending shuttles and attempting to ram _Lord English_. A grotesque vessel that R-66Y had never seen before was pummeling the ship with antiproton weapons; R-66Y noticed its design drew parallels to the station he and his team were so unceremoniously ejected from. With his trajectory bringing him near the stricken _Lord English_ , he was able to snag a hold of a section of damaged hull plating and re-entered the ship through a ruptured cargo bay door. He quickly hailed the bridge.

"Admiral Lee, I have secured the data, but I'm sorry to say that Lieutenant Dlad and Nurse Emunai didn't make it."

In response, _Lord English_ lurched as it hit warp speed, leaving the station and the Husnock Necrohol behind.

* * *

Back in Federation space, Admiral Lee sat down with R-66Y. His arm was in a sling and his uniform was torn up. R-66Y began inquiring as to Lee's injuries.

"Admiral, have you seen a doctor? You look like you need immediate medical attention."

Lee waved R-66Y off with his good hand.

"My injuries aren't as severe as some of the others on the ship, Robby. While you were on the station, we were jumped by a whole slew of starships which proceeded to ram us repeatedly. We kept getting boarded, and it took us a hell of a fight to even start pushing them off. Most of the crew is in sickbay with bites and cuts. What in Heaven's name were those things? They looked like some of the species we're familiar with, but they were all cut up with shards of metal all over. I should have paid better attention at the briefing."

In response, R-66Y handed over his tricorder and the PADD he recovered.

"We couldn't retrieve Dr. Marr, and the little information we were able to get from her research shows that it was not as advanced as Starfleet Intelligence thought. However, what I gathered from her logs is that she believed the Husnock had somehow returned and that they are the ones responsible for the attacks we've suffered."

Lee rested his chin on his good hand as he mulled the revelation over. After a time, he spoke again.

"In any case, it's Starfleet Intelligence's problem now. I'll focus on sending condolence letters to the families of Lieutenant Dlad and Nurse Emunai. If the Husnock really have returned, we may be in quite some trouble. I'll forward what we have to SI, Robby. You can go back to your duties."

* * *

 **Captain's Log, supplemental. We are meeting up with Admiral Starfyre of the USS _Fermion_ to offload our wounded. Our rescue mission into the Husnock Necrohol has failed tremendously. Dr. Marr has not been recovered, and the data we have is not the prize Starfleet Intelligence wanted. The _Lord English_ has lost 147 crew members in the melee, and the only thing we have to show for it is the knowledge that the Husnock Necrohol may not be as empty as we thought. With the Federation-Klingon War raging, it may be some time before Starfleet can act in the area again. I only hope that nothing bad comes out in the meantime.**


	42. LC42: Sleeping Set'leth

Literary Challenge #42: I Am the Legacy of Romulus

 **LC42: Sleeping Set'leth**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 87033.66. The majority of the _Lord English_ 's crew is out of commission since our furball in the Husnock Necrohol. The senior crew has therefore moved off of the now mostly-empty Odyssey into the much snugger Aquarius mission pod. While the crew is recovering from their injuries, the Federation Diplomatic Corps wants me to assist the Romulan Republic in a little headhunting. We're off to talk to one of the leaders of the Romulan Republic- and our Romulan exchange officer's estranged sister.**

* * *

On board USS _Jake English_ , the Aquarius mission pod of USS _Lord English_ , Vice Admiral Remus Lee met with his Romulan and Reman exchange officers. Commander Liviana, _Lord English_ 's resident Romulan research lab scientist, sent a file to the PADD's of Admiral Lee and Commander Twimek, the Reman biochemist.

"Proconsul D'Tan wants us to find an officer of the Romulan Republic who returned to civilian life," Liviana explained. "Commander Lirina was a resident of the Virinat Colony before its destruction by the Tal Shiar; she was instrumental in rescuing refugees from many of the colonies attacked by the Tal Shiar during their attempt to reunify the Star Empire by force."

"Lirina is held in high regard by much of the Romulan Republic. She's utterly unconcerned with galactic politics, yet she's done much to bring people under the banner of the Republic. If it wasn't for her assistance at Crateris, I would most likely have been a victim of the Tal Shiar," Twimek added.

"She seems to be quite the hero," Admiral Lee said. "What role is the Federation supposed to play in reclaiming a Romulan officer for the Republic?"

In response, Liviana opened a file detailing Lirina's genealogical data.

"Quaestor Llhreenor of Rator III married Llatta, a refugee from Romulus, and had three children, Liviana, Lirina, and Lhian, before dying in one of Praetor Taris' secret prisons. Of those three children, the eldest remained on Rator to work in the Romulan Ministry of Science before fleeing to New Romulus after the disappearance of Empress Sela. Lirina and Lhian, however, left Rator after Sela came to power and moved to the Virinat Colony to escape from the conflicts," she explained.

Twimek then displayed the Romulan Republic personnel file for Lirina.

"Lirina is considered one of the finest tactical minds to have ever served the Republic. She and another Virinat survivor, Tovan Khev, attacked Tal Shiar assault forces several times in a derelict T'Liss Warbird and survived. She later infiltrated the Tal Shiar, who tried and failed to indoctrinate her, and escaped with valuable data about Romulan research into Borg technology, some of which was adapted onto ships of Task Force Omega. She has been instrumental in the fight against the Elachi and the Tal Shiar for the Republic, the Federation, and the Klingon Empire," he added.

Liviana closed the rest of the files, leaving a rotating hologram globe of Virinat on the display.

"Growing up in a Ratorian prison, Lirina had underwent the same indoctrination that all children of political prisoners were exposed to, but it only made her apathetic to galactic affairs; that's why she moved to Virinat in the first place. Now that Sela is gone and the Star Empire is fragmenting, she's returned to hiding on Virinat, far from the core of the rebuilding efforts. The Republic doesn't want to see a prodigy like Lirina tucked away while the Republic still needs help, so D'Tan is sending us three to convince her to return to service. The Federation Council, meanwhile, wants to at least prevent her from being kidnapped by the Tal Shiar or some other rival faction," she concluded.

Having absorbed all the information given to him by his Republic liaisons, Admiral Lee reclined in his seat while putting his feet on the table.

"In essence, we're on a charm offensive to get a retired Republican officer who doesn't want to return to the Republic and convince her to return to the Republic," he summarized.

Liviana and Twimek looked at each other before nodding; Lee's comment was right, if too oversimplified. At that moment, Commander Kira hailed the conference room.

"Admiral Lee and Commanders Twimek and Liviana, we are now in orbit around Virinat and are ready to beam you down at your convenience."

"Acknowledged, Commander Kira. We'll be ready to disembark within the hour," he replied. Turning to Liviana and Twimek, he added, "If your descriptions of Lirina are correct, it looks like we'll be here a while, so you better pack everything you need."

Admiral Lee left the room, whistling "Traumerei" by Robert Schumann. Liviana wondered whether Admiral Lee could successfully convince Lirina to return, and also wondered how she would greet a sister she hasn't seen for over six years.

* * *

Soon after making landfall in the town square of the recovering Virinat colony, the three Starfleet officers rented hovercruisers and set off for the Set'leth Ridge, where Lirina was said to be living. After half a day's journey, they finally reached the ridge, where they found a ranch hand tending travits while playing a slow tune on a flute.

"A remarkably relaxing tune, it seems almost hypnagogic," Lee thought to himself.

Presently the ranch hand saw the three officers.

"Lloann'na? (Federation?)" he exclaimed.

"Ie, Lloann'na. Dochai Lloann'mhrahel doaege? (Yes, we're Federation officers. Do you speak a Federation language?)" Lee answered.

The ranch hand was taken aback, but returned Lee's salutation.

"Yes, yes, I speak a little English, Master Sleeping Set'leth has taught me," the ranch hand replied.

"Sleeping Set'leth? Would you happen to mean Commander Lirina?" Liviana asked.

"I have heard those close to her say Lirina, actually," he said, "though those who live on the ridge call her Master for her good works. She lives in a structure on the far end of the ridge."

"I see, thank you very much, good sir," Lee responded, before riding off towards the far end, Twimek and Liviana in close pursuit.

Twimek took the opportunity to ask Lee a question.

"Your Romulan was pretty good for a human. Are you fluent in Romulan?"

In response, Lee pulled back his sleeve. The phrases he spoke were written on his sleeve.

"I always have a temporary tattoo of important phrases put on for occasions such as this," he replied coyly.

Twimek chuckled while Liviana rolled her eyes. Presently they ran into a depression in the ground; all three officers crashed off their hovercruisers, but were otherwise unhurt as they fell onto the cloaked ship which lay inside the hole. A shadowy Reman opened the bow hatch and stepped out.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Lee dusted himself off and greeted the figure.

"Jolan tru, miss. I am Remus Lee, Vice Admiral of the United Federation of Planets Starfleet, Federation Diplomatic Corps Ambassador, M.A.C.O Elite Commander, Omega Force Shadow Operative, and commanding officer of USS _Lord English_ , and I'm here to speak to Commander Lirina," he replied.

"I missed everything after 'Remus Lee'," the Reman replied.

"In that case, just say Remus Lee came to inquire, miss..."

"My name is Veril, and I work as Lirina's chief engineer. She left earlier this morning to attend to personal business. I don't know where she went or when she'll be back. My apologies, Admiral ch'Havran."

Admiral Lee was bemused. His Romulan and Reman companions were amused.

"Let's go back to the ship, since we can't see her now, Admiral ch'Havran," Liviana said with a smirk.

"Let's wait a little longer instead, since we're already here," Lee replied.

"We could be here longer than is socially acceptable. Let's return to the _Jake English_ and inquire later, Admiral," Twimek suggested.

On the urgings of his officers, Lee relented.

"Please inform Lirina that Admiral Lee was here, hopefully we will meet the next time I come," he finally said as the trio beamed back to the ship.

* * *

The day after they returned to the ship, a fierce blizzard swept over the Set'leth Ridge, blanketing the area in chilling winds and deep snows. Despite this, Admiral Lee prepared to leave the warmth of the _Jake English_ to try to meet Lirina again, to the disapproval of Commander Kira, the Klingon Chief Science Officer.

"It will be very dicey for you to go down to the planet, and you don't even know where this Lirina is. Why don't you let me beam her aboard, or at least ask her to come to the ship?" she told him as he and the two Republic bridge officers stepped on the transporter pad.

"My personally going shows our sincerity to Lirina. If it wasn't necessary, we wouldn't have to go," he replied.

"Honestly, I think it's a wild targ chase, I just hope you're not wasting your time going down there," she shouted as the transporter activated and the officers beamed down.

The three officers trudged to the warbird that served as Lirina's residence. Veril greeted them again at the cargo bay hatch.

"Oh admiral, you should have warned me earlier that you were coming," she exclaimed. "Please, come in from the snow."

As the three officers entered the cloaked ship, Lee heard the voice of a young woman humming to herself. Presently, a Romulan female reading _Commentaries on the Civil War_ by Suran walked down the transverse corridor.

"Veril, who is it?" she asked.

Lee made a sweeping low bow as he introduced himself to her.

"Jolan tru, esteemed Master. Proconsul D'Tan has spoken highly of you as a person of unparalleled talent. Although previous efforts to find you have been lacking in results, today's excursion has paid off. I am glad to finally make your acquaintance."

The startled woman returned the bow. Liviana, who had tried and failed to get Lee's attention during his introduction stepped between the two.

"Admiral Lee, this is my youngest sister, Lhian. Lhian, please meet Admiral Remus Lee of the Federation Starfleet," she said.

"Welcome, admiral," Lhian replied. "Thank you for caring for my sister, Liviana."

"My apologies, Miss Lhian. Liviana has been most helpful. Is Lirina home?" Lee asked.

"Lirina just returned from an overnight trip," she responded.

With that, she sauntered off. Lee was quite pleased that the goal was in reach. As they reached the Commander's quarters, they met Veril, who was exiting.

"Is the commander available?" Lee asked.

"I'm sorry, Admiral, but she is sleeping off a hangover," she whispered.

"In that case, I'll wait outside," Lee said in a hushed voice.

Lee and crew knelt in front of the commander's quarters waiting for Lirina to come out. An hour passed before somebody realized the silliness of the situation.

"Admiral, you've been motionless for a long time," Kira said through the combadge.

"Admiral Lee is waiting for an audience with Lirina, but she is sleeping off a hangover," Liviana replied.

"I can wake her up from here on the ship," Kira fumed. "A few orbital phaser blasts will rouse her."

"I doubt it," Liviana said. "Lirina has been a heavy sleeper since forever. A round of phasers probably won't work."

At that point, the door opened, and Lirina stepped out, yawning. Dressed in a sleeveless shirt and underwear, she started moving towards the mess hall, but stopped short upon seeing three Starfleet officers kneeling in front of her room.

"Hello, little sister," Liviana said in greeting.

"I must still be hung over," she replied, as she returned to her room.

* * *

"I am honored that you've paid us so many visits, but I must decline your offer."

Lirina, now dressed in civilian robes, sat across from Admiral Lee at a table in her room as she pushed a plate of osol twists towards him.

"Please hear me out. The Romulan Republic needs experienced personnel to ensure the safety of its citizens and train the next generation of guardians. Proconsul D'Tan has cited you as the prime example of the type of leader the Republic needs," Lee replied as he pushed the plate back to Lirina.

"My business with the Republic was revenge-based, and with Hakeev's death on Brea III, I have no incentive to continue working for someone else," Lirina responded, pushing the plate more forcefully towards Lee.

"Hakeev may be dead, but the Republic still needs help. The Tal Shiar and Hirogen have been menacing Mol'Rihan and causing untold havoc, not to mention whatever the Tholians have planned throughout the sector block. The Republic needs all the help it can get."

Lee attempted to push back the osol twist plate back to Lirina but was stopped midway by Lirina's powerful counterpush. Unable to overcome Lirina's pressure, Lee was forced to concede the field to Lirina.

"The machinations of galactic powers do not interest me. Here I can do whatever I want. My free time here can be spent improving the lives of the Virinat colonists rather than embroiled in another galactic conflict between rival factions. I am grateful that you hold me in high regard, but I am unwilling to embroil myself with politics. Please inform D'Tan of my decision."

With that, Lirina retired into the inner section of her quarters. Lee and Twimek were dismayed at Lirina's stubborn refusals.

"This may take some time to iron out, if Lirina is set against serving the Republic again," Lee pondered.

"It seems that Lirina's experiences have soured her even more than I expected," Twimek mused.

At that point, Liviana slammed her hand on the table.

"We're focusing too much on trying to coddle Lirina, aren't we? She hasn't changed at all in six years; all she wants is for the galaxy to revolve around her. She's not as perfect as D'Tan makes her out, either. I can tell you lots of stories about her as a child..." she shouted in exasperation.

Liviana proceeded to tell Lee and Twimek several luridly embarrasing stories about growing up on Rator. As she got to one particular story, the door to the inner quarters opened, and a seething Lirina pounced on Liviana.

* * *

A short while later, Lhian, Veril, Twimek, and Lee were busy cleaning up the mess that Lirina and Liviana's brawl made. The two Romulan sisters found themselves in the same cell on the ship's brig.

"Living on an agriworld hasn't hurt your skills at all," Liviana noted.

Lirina smiled at her sister for the first time in six years.

"Laboratory work hasn't dulled you either," she responded. "It makes me think that you're not here just because D'Tan sent you."

At this point, Liviana decided that an appeal to ego would be more effective than an appeal to reason.

"Admiral Lee is here because D'Tan asked him to be here, but I thought I should come along as well, given the amount of information we've discovered that the Tal Shiar has on you," she insinuated.

"Whatever the Tal Shiar has on me is of no consequence anymore," Lirina responded.

"Oh, it's not what the Tal Shiar have on you, but what they think of you which brings me here," Liviana said with a smirk.

"What do the Tal Shiar think of me?"

"They're afraid of you, of course. They can't seem to figure out how a Virinat farm girl can do as much damage to them as you did, so they're trying to wage a slander campaign on you in order to impugn your image. They're posting doctored images of you and sending chain e-mails with your name on it, among other things. I could go on about all the things they're trying to do."

Lirina turned red. She began wrecking the cell in a rage.

"Do those Tal Shiar wretches have the nerve to do _that_? I have fought in every major confrontation in the Tau Dewa Sector Block this past year, such that even the Federation and the Klingon Empire have acknowledged my services. What the Tal Shiar is doing is unforgivable! I'll show them!"

"Does this mean you're leaving Virinat?"

"I planned to stay here and avoid the galaxy at large like the sages of old, but I won't let the Tal Shiar malign me this way. If the Republic needs my help in fending off its enemies, then perhaps our goals can once again align."

Liviana was pleased with herself as Lirina contacted her crew and Admiral Lee about her intentions to return to the Republic. Perhaps her little sister did mature a little over the years.

* * *

 **Captain's Log, supplemental. We are returning to New Romulus to give word to Proconsul D'Tan about our mission's success. The _Lord English_ is waiting in orbit to receive the mission pod, and from there we'll continue patrols in Tau Dewa for another week. This will allow our Romulan exchange officer to bond with her sister before we part ways. I see great things for the Republic with such a talented person in its service.**


	43. LC43: REDACTED

**REDACTED**


	44. LC44: Out of the Dragon

Literary Challenge #44: Down the Rabbit Hole

 **LC44: Out of the Dragon's Den**

 **Captain's Log, Stardate 87174.98. Captain Jay Yim of the USS _Khitomer_ has challenged me to tour the galaxy in an effort to foster a spirit of friendly competition between Starfleet officers with a hefty payoff for each sector visited. What he doesn't know is that Admiral Starfyre of the USS _Fermion_ has given me a map for the quickest way around explored space, heh heh! The _Lord English_ is about to reach Pelia Sector before transwarping back to Earth Spacedock.**

* * *

"After eons of slumber, we have reestablished our supremacy in this wide galaxy. This domain is your birthright, forged from our knowledge of the Underspace and the technologies we have aggregated for our own use. From the womb you have been crafted to become a withering Blight on our foes. Our soldiers have never failed to return victory since your creation! Now we face a threat to our existence on par with the ancient enemy which forced our species to rebuild from the ashes. Never forget the fires of the past, in which your forebears were snuffed out in a night of blazing heat! Remember the sacrifices made for you to live, and fight for the future of our species! The Vaadwaur lives which you shoulder as your burden will remember you even as you fade away into stardust."

 _Stardust..._

Vaadwaur Junior Scout Lesa ruminated on the speech given by Director Gaul, the leader of the Vaadwaur, before this battle, even as another of her wingmen exploded into fine particles. She began to feel fear, in defiance of her strict mental conditioning. Could this enemy be one the Vaadwaur could not overcome? Lesa shook the idea from her head; defeatism was an enemy like any other, and the Vaadwaur has never lost to an enemy in the thirty-three years since they returned to power. This foe would fall like all aliens who crossed the Vaadwaur. Lesa began to settle her nerves by recounting a childhood story, _The Victories of the Vaadwaur_ , even as she angled her assault fighter into another run on the enemy formation. As her flight leader said, "Victories are the best way to improve spirits."

"Victory over extinction, the Overseers awake from stasis and claim a new homeworld," she sang to herself. "Victory of the people, the Overseers rescue survivors from the hands of the Turei to restart Vaadwaur civilization."

The subspace cannons of the assault fighter violently ripped apart the enemy frigates, but Lesa couldn't rest easy, as other ships were menacing the ships of the servant species which protected the Vaadwaur attack group, and too many losses could incite panic and leave the Vaadwaur open to direct attack.

"Victory of industry, Vaadwaur manufacturing output returns to pre-bombardment levels."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lesa spots a small fighter angling towards her rear. A quick jink puts the fighter in her sights before a microtorpedo barrage obliterates it.

"Victory of the new generation, the first post-bombardment Vaadwaur generation is born."

A series of explosions off to her right catches her attention. The last of her wingmen were obliterated in a flash, and now this mysterious enemy was now angling towards the main Vaadwaur force. Lesa realized there was no room to escape, for unlike the Vaadwaur's other enemies, these foes existed in the Underspace, using it against them. The gruff voice of her flight leader Senior Officer Kurin broke in on the comm channel.

"The attack has failed. Fall back to normal space and regroup. We cannot let the enemy take the Underspace to the homeworld."

 _Chilling words_ , Lesa thought. No Vaadwaur has ever lost to an enemy since the Turei alliance destroyed the old homeworld. However, the low Vaadwaur population meant that any Vaadwaur death exposed the entire civilization to extermination again. Lesa prepared to make the reversion to normal space when she felt her ship pulled directly in front of an enemy battleship. A metallic X with glowing green growths had snared the young Junior Scout using a fold in the Underspace. With engines inoperative, Lesa could only watch as green crescents began impacting her ship.

In a flash, another assault fighter launched a flurry of isolytic bursts on the enemy battleship, drawing its attention from Lesa's fighter. Senior Tech Officer Kurin began dropping all his ordinance in between the enemy and Lesa.

"Junior Scout, your flight leader orders you to find any means to escape. Whatever my fate will be is insignificant. The future of the Vaadwaur depends on the youth. Now hurry! I won't be able to hold them off much longer."

The Vaadwaur do not disobey orders, Lesa thought, even if they found reason to disobey. With her engines disabled, Lesa had only one option to escape. Activating a transwarp drive, she pointed her vessel towards open Underspace and let the Borg engine take her far from the battle. She continued recounting Vaadwaur victories until she blacked out.

"Victory of conquest, the Vaadwaur reclaim the first planets held by foreign encroachers. Victory of hegemony, the first interstellar power is conquered by the Vaadwaur..."

* * *

"We've crossed the border into Pelia, Admiral."

Vice Admiral Remus Lee looked up from the sketchbook he was drawing in.

"Has ESD noted our transition into Pelia?" he asked.

"Jay Yim has received our coordinates and congratulates us for completing the course," his first officer Kay Taylor responded. "We're ready to return when you say so."

"Let's away then," he replied. "We might still have enough time to run another circuit."

Just then an alert sounded. Chief Sensors Officer Ten of Twenty-Five hailed the bridge from her station.

"Admiral, a singularity is forming near our position!" she reported. "Something is coming out of it at high speeds!"

A twin-hulled, three-engined vessel barreled out of a wormhole off of _Lord English_ 's starboard bow on collision course towards the vessel. Recognizing the danger through countless hours of training, the _English_ 's crew springs into action; a quick decompression of the main shuttlebay later and the _English_ puts itself out of harm's way.

"Did anyone get that?" Lee asked.

"We've got a tractor beam lock on the object. It looks like a small, badly damaged warship," Chief of Operations Kovat Vystan replied. "Sensors indicate one lifesign. It appears to be dormant."

"Strange wormhole ships never have good things for us," Lee mused. "Starfleet regulations do say we have to lend aid to those who need it though. Have the pilot taken to the sickbay on the Aquarius pod. If things go south, we can always chuck it."

* * *

Lesa awoke to a quiet room. Her last memory was traveling at transwarp deep into the Underspace, leaving Senior Officer Kurin in the hand of the Underspace enemy.

"Where am I?" she wondered. "Was I captured by the enemy?"

She looked around and found a cabinet left slightly ajar; although it was small, she was genetically engineered to be pliant, and no enemy would expect an attack from such an unexpected vector. She quickly compacted herself to be ready to leap from the cabinet.

"Grandfather, are you there? How is our new patient?" came a voice from the corridor. Commander Ten of Twenty-Five came in to the _Jake English_ 's sickbay looking for her grandfather, Chief Medical Officer Four of Thirteen. After looking around, she saw hide nor hair of anybody. Sensing something wrong, she began contacting her grandfather on her combadge.

"Commander Four of Thirteen, please respond. The new patient seems to have gone missing."

She scanned the room more thoroughly, looking for clues as to where their new patient went. As she checked under the biobed, her back turned to the cabinet Lesa was hiding in.

"Now's my chance. I can take this crew member hostage and fight my way off this ship!" she thought to herself as she leapt out of the cabinet at Ten.

In a matter of seconds, the confrontation was over with a female body splayed on the biobed. Commander Ten of Twenty-Five was saved by her Borg reflexes, an idea she didn't relish much, although she was thankful for it.

"Cancel that alert, Grandfather, I found her," she replied. Turning to Lesa, she began an informal interrogation.

"Why did you attack me?" she asked, as security personnel poured into the room.

Lesa was surprised to hear the Borg drone speaking Vaadwaur, but replied nonetheless.

"Enemies of the Vaadwaur deserve no mercy, and you have committed the affront of capturing one," she replied.

"I did not know that we had captured you; only that your ship nearly crashed into ours," Ten stated.

"If your ship was in the way, you should have done more to catch it. Now unhand me at once, else the Blight of the Vaadwaur come to take you apart for your Borg parts, drone," she snapped.

Ten curdled at the patient's remark.

"Listen, miss Vaadwaur, I don't know what how your species teaches children, but I don't think any Vaadwaur disease is going to help you out. From what I've learned, the Vaadwaur were last seen by USS _Voyager_ 25,470 light years away," she retorted.

Lesa was taken aback. Where did that transwarp jump in Underspace take her?

"I refuse to believe you. This could be a plot by your masters to cause me to divulge the location of the homeworld. Are you part of the Voyagers who tried to stop the Vaadwaur from returning by killing the Overseers?"

Ten bristled at this remark.

"Now I know that your instructors haven't taught you manners. If you want proof you're not in Vaadwaur anymore, look out the window!" she sneered as she retracted the blast cover on the sickbay's skylight. Lesa stared at the ceiling, at awe by the sight.

The gleaming edifice of Earth Spacedock shone in Sol's rays, as countless ships of all kinds warped in to dock. Below, Earth glittered as countless lights twinkled on and off, more lights than Lesa had ever seen allowed on a planet. Truly, this was far from the war-ravaged lands of the Vaadwaur.

* * *

Back on the bridge, Vice Admiral Lee began sketching in his sketchbook again. A stray thought crossed his mind.

"Now that I think about it, was it a good idea to return to Earth with a potentially hostile being?"

He drove the thought from his mind. He got the prize from Captain Yim for completing the Galaxy Tour, so whatever.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
